Baltimore: swarming with beggars and thieves?

In a scene from the new Masterpiece adaptation of “Les Miserables,” Jean Valjean takes the young Cosette out of the safety of their convent hideaway for the first time in many years and into the bustling streets of Paris. We see a seedy 19th-century Parisian neighborhood swarming with beggars and thieves and con artists in a swirl of unsavory activity. It reminded me of Baltimore.

With the same urgency as those French indigents, bands of Baltimore's homeless and squeegee kids regularly approach cars stopped at busy intersections all over town hoping to score a buck or two. It is a daily annoyance, especially for those of us unable to contribute. The homeless at least are polite. But a squeegee kid once called me a "f-ing racist" when I declined his service. Ahh, the joys of city living.

And then there's the muggings, a dreaded rite-of-passage for far too many a Baltimorean. Mine happened late one night last September on a poorly lit midtown side street. I was confronted by an apparently-armed young man while getting out of my car and, foolishly perhaps, I ran. Thank God another car came by, causing my attacker to flee the scene. I was extremely lucky — I walked away with my life and my car and my wallet and my cellphone. Too many crime victims are not as fortunate. People are shot and killed nearly every day in this town.

Recent months have seen Baltimore turn up in national headlines for being both America's "Most Dangerous City" (see recent Inner Harbor beatings) and its "Most Robbed." Then came now-former-Mayor Catherine Pugh's regrettable Healthy Holly shenanigans, a fiasco if there ever was one. When you add to these the 2015 uprising and subsequent Department of Justice consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department, the criminal acts of the BPD’s Gun Trace Task Force, and former mayor Sheila Dixon's gift-card scandal, it's understandable if some see Baltimore as a sad joke of a city.

But this town has been known for its violence and corruption since before I moved here from the suburbs in the early 1980s. In terms of public safety and governmental integrity, you have to wonder what Baltimore's movers and shakers, elected or otherwise, have been doing for the last 50 years besides overseeing this city's decline.

As for our new mayor, thrust into the job by outrageous circumstances and looking a bit like a deer caught in the headlights — what are we to make of him? He seems like a straight shooter with a down-to-earth quality. Only time will tell if he has the honesty, the creativity and the smarts to turn Baltimore around. Or should we even expect such inspired leadership from him? From anyone?

I think we must. If this is not Jack Young's time to shine, then let it be someone else's in 2020. Someone whose conscience does not fall short, someone whose interests do not conflict, someone whose loyalty lies as much with the poor and the voiceless as it does with the comfortable and the influential.

And for goodness' sake, let it be someone whose No. 1 priority is to get the guns off of our streets. There is nothing charming about a town where every bad guy is packing. Certainly, the task of separating our hoodlums from their arsenals is fraught with a myriad of challenges. But those who think Baltimore can be less violent without this crucial step are kidding themselves.

And a little further down on a new mayor's to-do list — build those squeegee kids a car wash or two. Too many of these street-corner entrepreneurs have turned belligerent of late, and motorists are tired of the daily confrontation. Why not enable squeegee kids to make decent wages more safely at real jobs in actual carwashes? It would help them tremendously while also scoring a big quality-of-life win for drivers citywide.

Clearly, Baltimore is long overdue for bright ideas and good people to implement them. Let's hope that change starts now.

Louis Balsamo is a free-lance writer; his email is louisbalsamo@gmail.com.