After watching this past week's "protests" in Baltimore play out, I feel new battle lines need to be drawn between the law and the criminals ("A step toward justice for Freddie Gray," May 1). We need an all-out "war on thugs."
It was the thugs that attacked the police and store owners, burned homes and businesses and looted. They weren't protesting anything — they were just doing what they do best, and that is stealing and destroying other citizens' property. The thugs brought world attention to Baltimore for all the wrong reasons. The thugs can also be thanked for turning Baltimore into a "Detroit on the Chesapeake." It will take years for the city to recover from this debacle — until then, Baltimore will be viewed as an unsafe and out-of-control municipality.
I don't see anyone demonstrating on behalf of the property and store owners who were beaten and lost their businesses.
We should be indebted to the thugs since they were able to expose to the rest of the country what an inept and clueless group is running Baltimore. It was fortuitous that the city prosecutor rushed to judgment and charged the six police officers, for if she hadn't, the city would still be smoldering. Baltimore needs leaders, not appeasers.
Brian Spector, Easton