Views from Point Breeze

It is hard for me to watch the current violence in Baltimore.  Young and old people alike are throwing objects at police, burning stores and partaking in civil unrest.  The National Guard has been called in and tension is at an all time high.  The Home Going service for Freddie Gray was held yesterday.  Elijah Cummings and Jesse Jackson represented the Civil Rights era.  The Obama Administration sent representatives also.  Freddy Gray's twin sister appealed for calm and tried to prevent what is currently unfolding.  Her plea is apparently being ignored by the looters. The event that precipitated this conflagration was the death of Freddie Gray.  From documents accounts, he was being pursued by police after he was observed standing on a corner possibly trying to pass the time.  Unemployment in our communities is still twice that of other communities.  Police reported seeing a knife in his waistband.  He was handcuffed and placed i...

Many sports fans were waiting for the results of the jury decision in the Aaron Hernandez case.  I was mystified from the beginning that a young, extremely rich athlete would get himself involved in allegations of murder and mayhem.  When he was arrested at his mansion I was struck by the fabulous nature in which he was living.  It was subsequently revealed that he had a team of housekeepers.  He probably had landscapers also.  His highly effective security system was one of the aspects of his life that might have sealed his fate. It is the dream of many individuals who grow up in tough surroundings to obtain the house in the suburbs with the fly car to match.  Those with academic talent can utilize this skill set to obtain scholarships and a career to help attain success.  The gifted individual is the one who can combine academic prowess with athletic skill to max out on the beauty of youth.  The wider path of this spectrum is occupied by...

Many of us have now seen the horrific video of Walter Scott being gunned down by North Charleston police officer Michael Slager.  Walter Scott was running away from the police officer when he was shot at least five times in the back by this officer.  Most officers take an oath to serve and protect citizens like myself.  In this situation, Mr. Scott's life was taken away by an individual who obviously used his time at the range to perfect his shooting style and deadly aim.  He calmly pumped the bullets from his taxpayer funded weapon into a father of four who was running for his life. One thing that I did not notice in the telephone video that was recorded by a concerned citizen was any blood.  Even when he zoomed in on the callous police officer who handcuffed Mr. Scott, there seemed to be no blood.  Officer Slager picked something up from an initial encounter with Mr. Scott and then went and dropped it next to his body.  There was no recorded attem...