Each time it seems a tipping point *must* have been reached, it subsides, and another event occurs.

The news cycle has events it looks for, and right now, those events are the untimely and likely murders of young black men. A few years ago it was campus rape, it is always the death of a human by a pit bull (other breeds aren't on the radar). These things always happen, but the media lens moves around to the next popular story topic, looking for shiny objects to boost their ratings.

If the killing of 26 school children in Connecticut isn't going to shock the U.S. into enacting some sort of reasonable gun control, how will the serial deaths of young black men around the nation inspire reform in how police departments treat individuals their gaze falls upon? (I would say "arrest" but not all individuals they have killed lately have actually been under arrest).

Police departments should be able to see the writing on the wall regarding their attitudes toward young black men, because they're all being lumped together as bad actors if they don't make overt changes. The general U.S. population can't see past the glare of the NRA when it comes to general gun issues, but police should be able to see that the reason cops in Brooklyn are gunned down like sitting ducks is because of the gun entitlement the NRA spouts combined with anger over police actions.

There is a whole lot of reform that needs to happen here.

All of that said, there are members of the population who are opportunists. One group protests and waves signs, a few around the edge throw rocks, and a whole bunch decide it is payday and start looting. The suggestion by politicians that they are "thugs" may be crude but it's probably accurate - they're young and figure they won't be imprisoned for theft. The UK saw this kind of rioting a few years ago. The desire to destroy property or to acquire new items by theft, it's all in the mix. I doubt there are as many cameras in place in Baltimore, as there were in the UK, to enable officials to do a forensic examination of the spread of this looting and to identify individuals responsible for looting. But they should make the attempt.

The Diane Rehm show is discussing this topic in the first hour today. Baltimore is very near Washington, D.C. where this program is broadcast, and she asks the hard questions of expert guests. It might be worth a listen. The podcast will be available in a couple of hours, the program is on right now. (10-11am Eastern time).

SRS