I was deeply saddened to read The Baltimore Sun headline: “'These are not random': 9 dead, 5 injured amid Memorial Day weekend violence in Baltimore” (May 25). Not only were nine lives gruesomely cut short, but also The Sun’s reporting and Baltimore Police Commissioner Michael Harrison’s words devalued the preciousness of their lives. The article quoted and paraphrased the commissioner’s statement that “a few” of the victims had prior convictions, some were carrying handguns, and “two of the shootings occurred inside residences, suggesting that the victims knew the perpetrators,” implicitly laying blame on the deceased prior to listing their names.
While the commissioner sought to make sense of the senseless by explaining that these killings were not “random,” victim-blaming only perpetuates apathy among the city’s wealthy and white. I only imagine that reporting the deaths of nine white wealthy homicide victims would not land on the second page and emphasize their past misdeeds before grieving their lost contributions to society. Every human has worth.
Someone I know was shot and killed this week in Baltimore, and I was devastated to hear the news. I mourn his loss. Irrespective of his criminal record, he did not deserve to die. As a poor black man in this city, his life was worth no less than any other person’s. I miss him. His parents miss him. His children miss him. The same could be said of every one of the souls lost this weekend, and I want to read a paper that honors their humanity rather than debasing it.
I wish the commissioner, The Sun, and all those in power would acknowledge value in the lives of homicide victims so that we can finally mobilize change with the urgency that this epidemic demands.
Max Romano, Baltimore
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