The victory rally came amid a surreal week in “Charm City,” where Edgar Allen Poe eloquently wrote “There is no exquisite beauty…without some strangeness in the proportion.” Here’s a few of the bizarre I saw:
- Rashid Wiggins sold $10 shirts with the slogan, with “I Matter.” Apparently $10 will ensure one matters;
- Protesters charged police with “kidnapping” a prominent black community organizer. Never mind the fact the protester was arrested for violating curfew;
- CNN’s Brooke Baldwin decided to blame the Baltimore riots on returning veterans;
- Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox played in an empty stadium; and
- The Ad Council used an ill-advised Public Service Announcement (PSA) promoting a Caregiver Assistance program that included the background audio of a TV news anchor announcing:
“Riots nationwide have prompted local governments to declare martial law….the President is asking that citizens find safety and remain calm….authorities are working to contain the outbreak.”
I pondered this mess while watching a lone protester stand in front of the burned-out CVS with sign reading “God heard our prayers.”
Seriously? God heard our prayers?
Let’s highlight some of the insanity.
In Baltimore, police and civilian vehicles were destroyed, businesses looted, and as of this writing, fifteen officers injured. In summary, Baltimore tallied:
- 200 Arrests;
- 15 Structural Fires;
- 144 Vehicle Fires;
- National Guard;
- Curfew;
- Citizens Attacked; and
- Police Officers Indicted.
In the wake of Michael Brown, Ferguson recorded:
- 80 arrests;
- Over 100 gunshots;
- 25 buildings burned and/or looted; and
- Vandalized police cars in Ferguson, Missouri.
Oakland, California residents notched the following in marches for Michael Brown:
- A looted Starbucks
- Smart & Final had liquor cabinets pulled off
- Chase Bank had two front doors smashed
- Wells Fargo (targeted in previous Occupy and Trayvon Martin protests) experienced broken widows
- 40 people arrested on charges ranging from assault on a police officer, to vandalism, burglary, public intoxication, and refusal to disperse
- Officers pelted with rocks, bottles paint and fireworks.
But hey, God answered our prayers. It’s such a wonderful example of God’s intervention. Isn’t it?
I’m amazed how people attempt to find meaning in the absurdity. Truthfully, God answered nothing. The only principality was ignorance and intolerance. They were bred from our inhumanity – bred from deep within our soul.
If that CVS protester was right and God answered Baltimore’s prayer, then His message to those who lost a business was … what? To those who were attacked, did God ordain that? Was God’s hand of justification empowered through a young prosecutor, the indicted officers or both? To those who lost jobs as a result of destruction, did God answer their prayers as well? I mean maybe they didn’t want to go to work that day. Did God get the prayer wrong, simply fuck up and make a mistake? “Oops, my bad,” God exclaimed.
A part of me wants to yell, “God answered Baltimore’s prayer, but Bosnia, Rwanda, ISIS, Boko Haram, Hiroshima and Nazi death camps were God’s plan? How many people go to bed hungry every night? And now you’re praying for the ‘God of justice?‘
Borrowing from Rabbi Brad Hirschfield, I openly ask anyone to tell me about God’s plan. But if you’re going to tell me about how His plan answered Baltimore, you better also be able to explain how the plan wiped out so many who had nothing to do with either Gray or the officers. The test has to do with going and saying it to the person whose business burnt down. Look in their eyes and tell them God’s plan was to wipe them out but justice was served. I don’t worship that God, but at least you have integrity.