As Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency following the Freddie Gray protests in Baltimore, delegates from acclaimed television series The Wire—the city’s most recognizable pop cultural cornerstone—commented on the chaos. It’s been varying shades of indignation.
On his blog, series creator David Simon made an urgent plea for a ceasefire: “…the anger and the selfishness and the brutality of those claiming the right to violence in Freddie Gray’s name needs to cease,” he wrote. Simon continued:
There was real power and potential in the peaceful protests that spoke in Mr. Gray’s name initially, and there was real unity at his homegoing today. But this, now, in the streets, is an affront to that man’s memory and a dimunition of the absolute moral lesson that underlies his unnecessary death.
If you can’t seek redress and demand reform without a brick in your hand, you risk losing this moment for all of us in Baltimore. Turn around. Go home. Please.
The post went live the same day Baltimore looked like this.
West Baltimore. Can’t see a thing past Pennsylvania. pic.twitter.com/ucvxG8Crff
— Joel D. Anderson 🆓 (@byjoelanderson) April 27, 2015
Actor Wendell Pierce, forever linked as The Wire‘s long-running, fictional officer Bunk Moreland, fiercely denounced the protesters and the notion of violence in the name of Gray.
Baltimore. These are not protestors. These are criminals disrespectful of the wishes of the family and people of good will.
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 27, 2015
I’m watching the Fruit of Islam, men of the Nation of Islam attempting to stop the violence and working with the police to restore calm
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 27, 2015
What would have been a great display of rage would have been going to the DOJ and demanding a meeting with Loretta Lynch on her 1st day.
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 27, 2015
A display of rage would be demanding the Dept of Justice to take over Baltimore police with a Consent Decree with our demands defining it
— Wendell Pierce (@WendellPierce) April 27, 2015
Andres Royo, who played leading informant Bubbles, spoke with indignant broad strokes that called for peace.
To my Beloved city Baltimore..I feel your pain. Stand up..rise UP without breaking down! Discipline not Destruction. #VictorynotVictims
— Andre Royo (@AndreRoyo) April 27, 2015
Elsewhere on Twitter and Reddit, protesters have been mocked as the rioting means dismissive users have been reveling in negative stereotypes.
https://twitter.com/mrreactionary/status/592755066894950400
Baltimore Orioles COO John Angelos, whose father owns the team, played pensive apologist.
…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 Orioles have postponed Monday’s game with the Chicago White Sox.
After consultation with Baltimore City Police Department, tonight’s game between the Orioles & White Sox at Oriole Park has been postponed.
— Baltimore Orioles (@Orioles) April 27, 2015
The city of Baltimore will reportedly close its schools on Tuesday, as local officials will reportedly implement a citywide curfew that will span 10pm to 5am ET effective Tuesday.
On the ground, the story is ongoing as reports of police shooting suspects surface.
https://twitter.com/jimspellmanTV/status/592837349857427456
I want to thank the two members of the Bloods who walked me to safety and the others who stood around me when bottles were being thrown
— Ben Jacobs (@Bencjacobs) April 27, 2015
Photo via urbanfeel/Flickr (CC BY ND 2.0)
