(written to Baltimore’s Mayor, forwarded to our council members and representatives – it probably won’t go anywhere, but it made me feel better for writing it)
As my friend Femi the Drifish sings in his song “BMORE” “I represent Baltimore to inspire, We be more than the wire, Raising children into survivors, With charms inside that light up”.
So much of the nation has never seen the incredible culture and art of Baltimore City and instead has solely associated our city with television show from over 10 years ago, Natty Boh and crabs. It’s said over and over again as we tour this incredible country.
“Where are you from?”
“Baltimore”
“Oh, I’m sorry” “Is it like the Wire?” “oh wow, did they burn your house down?”
Simplified to nothing more than a squalid crime drama, Baltimore has been a favourite target for suburbanites and rural audiences alike, pointing to us as a hotbed of murder and theft, corruption and riots. With the death of Freddie Gray in 2015 our city had to rise to new challenges and it hasn’t done so without missteps. We threw a statue of Columbus in the Harbor on July 4th and that’s a pretty complicated act of protest.
But we’re dealing with it.
When OUR government thought we needed help, we asked for it, and received it in the form of the National Guard. In 2015 they came to help make sure things didn’t get out of hand. In 2020 they returned to distribute meals and humanitarian assistance. We know when to ask for help from the Federal Government. Sometimes we even get it.
But now the Federal Government is threatening to shove this “help” down our throats. In Portland, OR federal Border Police, unasked for, unwanted, uninvited – and unidentified – have been stepping in and show no sign of stepping back, stepping up the violence and the terror they are theoretically there to quell. Though Constitutionally such police actions are the responsibilities of local governments, there’s no sign of them stepping back out and now President Trump declares that he plans to send such task forces to Chicago, Philadelphia – and of course – our own Baltimore City.
So – duly elected officials of Baltimore and of Maryland – your our city is under siege both from without and from within. We have coronavirus surging and unemployment rising. It is the most challenging time for any citizen of America in Living memory, and you are our leaders. PLEASE be ready for these new challenges when they come, because now we have a new threat to our friends and neighbours : a federal task force that feels they have a blank check to pick up and detain people on the streets without even a token nod to probable cause, to use potentially lethal weapons on innocent bystanders, and to do all this while not even identifying themselves as representatives of any agency or authority other than that of pure, blunt, violent force. If these forces are allowed to stay – what will they be doing when we try to hold our elections? What is their mandate?
I’m not a politician. I’m not a cop. I don’t have big ideas to solve these problems. If they were simple, they’d have been solved. But here are my thoughts.
- First, and this is the only thing that I DEMAND of our leaders: get on it. Don’t wait for these stormtroopers to arrive. LEAD. Don’t simply react. Please plan now. And since we don’t know if and when these forces will be deployed – do it tonight.
- So many “norms” have been ignored by President Trump, we can’t rely on precedent. We need laws. We can’t assume that federal forces will identify themselves and adhere to Constitutional law. It should go without saying that the Constitution applies to the Border Patrol forces being deployed, but it apparently DOES need to be said. Maybe a law stating “no really, Habeas corpus still applies” can’t happen overnight, but a declaration that violators will be prosecuted – no matter who they are – can.
- Dialog. Baltimore truly rioted in 2015. We’ve come a long way since then. We haven’t solved the problems but we’ve engaged in what seems to be meaningful dialog. And we show that it works because in 2020, Baltimore’s got protests and violence – but NOT a breakdown of order. But we’ve got two more statues of Columbus. Figure out what to do with them BEFORE a mob shows up and does something with them for you. Protect our federal buildings and property before they’re used as an excuse to send in federal troops – because once they’re here, do we just hope they go away? Or does this become a true civil war as we try to dislodge a force beholden to a man that sees Baltimore as a ‘disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess’.
Baltimore has stumbled many times, but never bowed.
Thank you for your time,
Robert Hinkal
Baltimore, MD
