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There is much blame, and many to share it. But pointing the finger of blame does NOT solve the problems. The violence of recent days, while it may be understandable to those who truly have a sense of the real issues, also does little to solve those real issues. Those who act for their own gain in a situation like this deserve all the opprobrium we can heap upon them. But we also need to do more to understand the circumstances that lead them to take such self-defeating actions, and do what we can to support and encourage those who are working to improve that reality.
While it is clear that the still unexplained death of
Freddie Gray after he was taken into custody, and his funeral yesterday, have
served as the spark for both peaceful protests and thoughtful coming together
in search of answers on the one hand, and now, sadly, also for violence on the
other, it is also clear that his death has served as a lightening rod for
frustrations over so many other realities in this nearby community, many of
them avoidable, and the product of our own successes and failures as a society.
It is also clear that many are failing to distinguish
between the actions of individuals or small groups, and the existence of larger
sub-groups of their community and our society. The too frequent phenomenon of an unexplained death while in
the hands of law enforcement officials should, once again, give us pause, and
demand of us that we not rest until Mr. Gray’s death is fully and honestly
investigated and explained, and anyone found guilty of inappropriate behaviors
that may have led to it is identified, tried, and punished if convicted. It does not, however, mean that ALL law
enforcement officers are bad – in fact, the great majority still deserve our
complete respect and support for the risks they take daily to support our
freedoms, our safety, and our lives.
Likewise, just because a remarkably small number of people – and at this
point it is not clear who they are, and therefore whether the impetus came from
local or external sources – chose to express their frustrations through acts of
violence, theft, and destruction of others’ property, this does NOT mean that
the entire community is to blame for the behaviors of some. Indeed, for every painful image of
burning cars or shops, or looters running with ill-gotten gain in there hand,
there have been an equal number of pictures of community leaders and average
citizens stepping up to maintain calm and peace, to discourage self-destructive
and dangerous behaviors, even today to begin the clean-up in the worst areas, or
to offer water to law enforcement officers standing guard in riot gear.
Similarly, while I cannot ever condone violence as the
preferred path to needed civil changes, and therefore add my voice as a Rabbi
to the many calling for swift and appropriate action by local leaders to end
the violence, and bring those responsible for it to justice, I am also learning
by listening to the stories of people who live closer to the impacted areas
just how deep their frustrations at lack of response and their feelings of
powerlessness and fear run. In the
process, I am coming to understand better how some people have been moved to
take actions I could never otherwise have understood. I still do not condone such behavior, but I am working to
understand WHY it happens, in the hope that when the time comes, that awareness
can lead to change that will prevent similar outbreaks in the future.
The needs of the immediate moment require the emphasis to
shift to restoring and maintaining the peace and safety of the Baltimore community
as a whole. Until that happens,
sadly, attention cannot and will not be allowed to shift back to investigating
the facts of Freddie Gray’s death, and beginning the serious communal dialogues
needed to change the prevailing circumstances that put too many Freddie Gray’s
in harm’s way. I pray that the
peace and safety of everyone is restored soon, for all of these reasons. But I am aware that unless the restoration
of normal life in Baltimore is followed by a sincere effort to change what has
become accepted as normal by too many, for the better, it will only be a matter
of time before the next incident sets off a similar, or more strident,
response, whether locally or somewhere else.
If the answers were easy, we would already be doing them as
a society and community. If there
was a clear voice of leadership, people would be following. In their absence, the status quo of
frustration and pain is allowed to fester until it explodes. Such a reality is harmful to Baltimore –
it is harmful to us all. We need a
new approach and new answers, because what has been tried here and elsewhere
has not achieved the needed results.
As Rabbi Hillel taught: If
I am not for myself, who will be for me; but if I am only for myself, what am
I? And if not now, when?
For better or for worse, for Baltimore, and beyond, the time needs to be
now. Local leaders are stepping
up, they need help from more of us.
Can we be counted on to help?
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