The Profound Unfairness Of The Baltimore Riots

There’s something grossly, profoundly unfair happening in Baltimore and across the country tonight.

It’s unfair that so much of the media coverage tends to come from white anchors, reporters and commentators (like me), who’ve never experienced what it’s like to be a person of color who’s confronted by police brutality — on camera or off. This isn’t to suggest that only African-Americans are allowed to comment on issues within African-American communities, but one thing was clear from Monday’s coverage: Wolf Blitzer might not be the most insightful moderator for such a discussion.

It’s unfair that the memory of Freddie Gray, the latest victim of unfair police profiling and excessive force, is besmirched by looters and rioters who are effectively spitting on his grave by turning what ought to be peaceful protests into self-serving violence and theft — where personal outrage and greed supersede a far more noble cause. The fact is, the looters probably don’t care too much who was killed or by whom. They’re merely piggy-backing their personal greed and lack of morality onto an entirely unrelated event.

It’s unfair that more commentators don’t make a clear distinction between the original tragedy and the violent unrest.

It’s unfair that the news media focuses so much time and coverage on the darker aspects of what’s happening, rather than balancing the coverage by showing neighbors helping neighbors and ministers preaching nonviolence and peaceful demonstrations. Sure, if it bleeds it leads, but as we’ve seen on countless occasions, viewers also love heroes, and throughout the day Monday, the heroes were marginalized in lieu of showing burned out cars and drugstores on fire.

It’s unfair to the… CONTINUE READING

By: Bob Cesca

Bob Cesca is the managing editor at The Daily Banter (www.thedailybanter.com) and a Huffington Post contributor since 2005. He's worked in journalism since 1988 as a print writer/editor, a radio news anchor, a digital media columnist/editor, a book author and blogger. He's the co-host of the Bubble Genius Bob & Chez Show podcast and a Thursday regular on the syndicated Stephanie Miller Show. He's appeared on numerous other radio shows including the John Phillips Show and Geraldo Rivera Show in Los Angeles. Bob has been a commentator/analyst on the BBC (TV and radio), MSNBC, Current TV, CNN and Sky News. Following him on Twitter: @bobcesca_go