The Nightmare Of Baltimore

摘要

It's pointless to ask which is more outrageous: deadly police misconduct or when violence erupts in response to it. Both are, but those who rioted and looted on the night of April 27 in Baltimore have now ensured that the focus will be more on the latter than on the former. That's what happens when gangs of "thugs" (as Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake called them) and "criminals" (the term President Obama used) roam the streets of a major American city, attacking police officers and destroying property. Only a few days before, Baltimore was facing the daunting yet crucial task of trying to clean up its police department. Now it has to do that and begin restoring a reputation tainted by images of violence and destruction seen around the world.