To the Editor:

Today I have watched with deepest regret the aftermath that has followed the death of Mr. Freddie Gray who was in custody of the Baltimore police at the time of suffering severe spinal cord damage which resulted in his death. Even worse, why has it taken so long to get a police report on what took place? It is strange how long it takes to get police reports on certain incidents when black men are shot by police. That alone raises a red flag. Do these people have a conscience that tells them right from wrong? Today, among the speakers that were speaking calling for calm by those who were demonstrating on the street, I was not surprised when the Governor of the State of Maryland referred to those who were being destructive on the streets as “thugs.” Was it possible that he did not have any idea that they were angry people whose anger, like many others, continue to build up all over the nation because of all these black men who have gotten killed by police? Then in most cases the police are acquitted in spite of camera pictures and clear evidence. I believe according to Webster’s dictionary, the definition for a “thug” could more easily fit those who are covering up, lying and falsely convicting innocent people, than those he so proudly referred to as thugs. Degrading titles given by people in high places, thought to be intelligent people, only speaks to their understanding of the true problem. There is a difference between the demonstrators and the people who are responsible for not treating blacks with justice.

Those who are responsible to protect all citizens and treat all fair and justly, those who are responsible to follow the same laws for all people when prosecuting a case and to act justly, are those who have had opportunities, education, jobs with good pay and supposedly trained for their jobs, against those who have been denied nearly everything they have ever needed or tried to work to accomplish, little education, and the kind of treatment that is continuing to destroy what courage they have managed to acquire. Webster’s definition for a thug is: “a cutthroat or ruffian; hoodlum; tough, one of a former band of Professional Assassins in Northern India, a cheat, thief, robber, one who covers up or hides things.” Which group fits the definition the better? When people are mistreated over and over, they have no recourse and they result to venting their anger the only way they know how. When will America as a nation learn that not one of us, are any better than the least among us, in the eyesight of God? I do not by any means condone the actions of the demonstrators, but until truth and honesty is brought to the hearts and minds of responsible people, and they show that, sincerely through their actions, there will be no lasting peace. To those responsible for denying justice, just think how easily Justice could have avoided so much destruction that “YOU” must now bear the blame, not the demonstrators.

Ruby H. Walden
Suffolk