In case you haven't heard about Freddie Gray, he was a black man who was picked up by Baltimore police for carrying an illegal switchblade. Whilst being carried by the police van, he was not properly strapped down and sustained spinal injuries that ultimately led to his death. Following his death there were many protests, many of which turned violent, and six police officers were indicted. Since May homicides and crime in Baltimore have skyrocketed, and it's probably because the police have pulled out from the trouble-spots of the city, which is where the riots had taken place.

To be honest I can understand the police's stance. After hearing people call them pigs or say phrases like "fuck the cops," alongside the deaths of Officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu, it's a completely human reaction to think, "Well, if you don't want us to be around, then that's fine. We can just leave you to your own devices." Part of my dislike toward the protestors is many of them were doing the same thing they were protesting against: Generalizing and demonizing a group instead of carefully looking at individuals. Is there an institutionalized racism toward blacks in the police force? Of course there is, and if you don't think so you're an idiot. And blacks can see injustice after injustice and they too had a completely human reaction and lashed out against the cops instead of carefully looking at each officer, many of whom were on their side, or never abused their position, or did not hurt someone based on race.

I think both sides really need to reevaluate their approach. For blacks, whether there's abuse or not, cops are still necessary. Otherwise it'll devolve into what's happening in Baltimore. They're the wronged party in this case and definitely deserve delayed justice, but offending the people who are keeping the peace in the neighborhood is not the smart move to do. They shouldn't have to moderate their speech because of years of violence toward their community, but at some point realpolitik has to step in. Is it better to tone down the hatred or to have shootouts on your block? For cops, realize that most of the protestors just want accountability. That's not an unreasonable thing to ask. If a member of the force does something horrible, there should be a punishment for it. This isn't like minor abuses like going through a red light. People are dying. And be the bigger man in this situation. Yeah, you're receiving insults, but know that you joined the police to help people, and innocent kids in Baltimore are getting caught in the crossfire of gang wars you're no longer trying to stop.