This article makes it out like the riots kick-started a new wave of violence. But homicides there had been tracking among the highest in the nation (nee the wor

This article makes it out like the riots kick-started a new wave of violence. But homicides there had been tracking among the highest in the nation (nee the world) for a decade or more. The article won't give you a deep understanding of the problems Baltimore has been facing, but it's a good recap if you were already in the know. By the way, that whole tangent about whether it should have been called 'unrest' or 'riots' is a false premise. Some of the people were lashing out against the police and symbols of injustice. And then there was the public housing old folks home that burnt to the ground. Or the old lady attacked by an intruder trying to steal a TV. Or the pharmacies that got raided by gangs to score cheap pills, and the subsequent mini-war after the plunge in black market prices. Or the firefighters who were pummeled by bricks and concrete while trying to put out the blazes. Some people were lashing out against a corrupt system, and some just wanted to burn the city down. When my friends were getting attacked in their homes and their cars destroyed on the street, my sympathy for those particular participants evaporated. But even considering all that, I strongly feel our society has completely abandoned a vulnerable population, and fed the flames of conflict that arise when people can barely survive.