.
4/27/15, "Son of (Baltimore) Orioles owner Peter Angelos tweets perspective on Freddie Gray protests," Washington Post, Cindy Boren
"The son of Peter Angelos, the Baltimore Orioles’ owner, expressed
frustration that the message sent by protests over the death of Freddie
Gray was overwhelmed by the temporary lockdown of Camden Yards during
the Orioles’ game Saturday night.
John Angelos, the Orioles’ executive vice president and second-highest ranking official, pleaded for a bit of perspective
in a series of tweets that revealed compassion and an awareness of the
community in which he lives. (The tweets, in response to a fan named
Brett, are combined here.)
"Brett,
speaking only for myself, I agree with your point that the principle of
peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is
of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela and all great
opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept.
Further, it is critical that in any democracy, investigation must be
completed and due process must be honored before any government or
police members are judged responsible.
That said, my greater
source of personal concern, outrage and sympathy beyond this particular
case is focused neither upon one night’s property damage nor upon the
acts, but is focused rather upon the past four-decade period during
which an American political elite have shipped middle class and working
class jobs away from Baltimore and cities and towns around the U.S. to
third-world dictatorships like China and others, plunged tens of
millions of good, hard-working Americans into economic devastation, and
then followed that action around the nation by diminishing every
American’s civil rights protections in order to control an unfairly
impoverished population living under an ever-declining standard of
living and suffering at the butt end of an ever-more militarized and
aggressive surveillance state.
The innocent working families of
all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive
violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by
government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far
exceeds the importances of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at
Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying
around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden
Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and
everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal
rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light
of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary
Americans.""
.
Monday, April 27, 2015
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