Brace Yourself for More Baltimores

The sad scenes playing out in Baltimore are made sadder by the fact that more such incidents are likely over the coming years.

That’s because the problems in Baltimore did not begin with the arrest and death of Freddie Gray. Tensions have been building for a very long time. Other cities from coast to coast have similar tensions ready to boil over.

Some tensions are common to all cities — pockets of economic devastation, laws that are enforced more strictly in some parts of town than others, bad apples among the police, thugs in the community and more.

Some are specific to each city. In Baltimore, the tensions became apparent more than a decade ago when the city inadvertently assumed a prominent role in the Stop Snitchin’ movement. Before that, in 2002, a Baltimore woman and her entire family were murdered after alerting police to illegal activities in her neighborhood.

The good news is that there are people on all sides in this tough situation who want to heal their cities. The bad news is that most people — and certainly most media coverage — are focused on who to blame. In the blame game, people from different walks of life see what they want to see.

Some see oppressive and racist police. Others see criminal thugs looking to destroy and steal.

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