| Racial Disconnect in Baltimore By Michael Reagan The left still has trouble with cause and effect. In Baltimore the death of Freddie Gray resulted in rioting that injured police officers and burned hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of local businesses to the ground. Mayor Stephanie Rawlings–Blake is rumored to have ordered police to stand down in the face of wanton law breaking and is also accused of denying police permission to don riot gear and mobilize crowd control units until it was too late. Control wasn't definitively reestablished until newly elected Republican Gov. Larry Hogan called out the National Guard. Editor's Notes: Special: 9 Overlooked Free Benefits for People Over 50 Doctor: Magnesium 'Miracle' Cure for Migraines The riots were described as an understandable response by ghetto dwellers to years of disenfranchisement by Baltimore's power structure and brutality from the police. This is strange. Baltimore hasn't had a Republican mayor in almost 50 years. Instead it's been a long line of Democrats elected by an overwhelming percentage of black votes. Currently the mayor is black and the chief of police is black. Three of the six officers rushed to indictment after Gray's death are black. So, if the city is run by blacks and the police department is run by a black chief with plenty of black officers, where is the disenfranchisement? And are black officers somehow guilty of racially profiling their own race? Members of the Baltimore police department had a predictable response to being attacked for being police officers: They became cautious and reactive, instead of motivated and proactive. The result is the month of May has seen 43 murders so far, which makes it the deadliest month since August 1990. CSMonitor quotes Terrance Rogers, a local youth minister, "There's a disconnect between the police department and community that's built up over generations. People here don't trust police." But it looks like trusting "the community" isn't working out too well either. It appears to be doing most of the shooting. And just what exactly is this "community?" Is it the thugs who threatened the witnesses in Ferguson who said "Hands Up, Don't Shoot" never happened? Is it the arsonists in Baltimore who burned down a senior citizens home being built for older members of the same "community?" From all appearances, an intimidating number of the "community" are murderers, criminals and thugs who don't want the police to do their job because policing interferes with their special brand of "community" outreach. Mayor Rawlings–Blake issued a statement on the situation that was remarkable for missing the point, "My hope is the police will have the support they need from the community to be able to get some answers and bring some of these individual[s] to justice." A good place for the mayor to start seeking support for the police would be in her own office. Michael Reagan is the son of former President Ronald Reagan and chairman of the League of American Voters. His blog appears on reaganreports.com More Links: Can This Weird Trick With Gin and Raisins Relieve Arthritis? See Video ALERT: These 7 Things Activate Alzheimer's in Your Brain | 
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