The city of Baltimore has descended into chaos, and Baltimore Orioles executive vice president John Angelos took to Twitter to weigh in.
Protests over the death of 25-year-old Freddie Gray flared in Baltimore over the weekend, forcing fans at Saturday’s game against the Boston Red Sox to remain inside Camden Yards after the game amid safety concerns.
Those events prompted Orioles radio broadcaster Brett Hollander to offer his thoughts on Twitter, arguing that the disruptive nature of the protests could detract from their purpose.
Shortly after, Angelos offered a lengthy, passionate response through a series of several tweets. Check out the full statement below, as transcribed by For the Win.
“Brett, speaking only for myself, I agree with your point that the principle of peaceful, non-violent protest and the observance of the rule of law is of utmost importance in any society. MLK, Gandhi, Mandela and all great opposition leaders throughout history have always preached this precept. Further, it is critical that in any democracy, investigation must be completed and due process must be honored before any government or police members are judged responsible.
“That said, 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 innocent working families of all backgrounds whose lives and dreams have been cut short by excessive violence, surveillance, and other abuses of the Bill of Rights by government pay the true price, and ultimate price, and one that far exceeds the importance of any kids’ game played tonight, or ever, at Camden Yards. We need to keep in mind people are suffering and dying around the U.S., and while we are thankful no one was injured at Camden Yards, there is a far bigger picture for poor Americans in Baltimore and everywhere who don’t have jobs and are losing economic civil and legal rights, and this makes inconvenience at a ballgame irrelevant in light of the needless suffering government is inflicting upon ordinary Americans.”
Things got even more ugly Monday night, as the Orioles-Chicago White Sox game was postponed as protests turned increasingly violent.
Thumbnail photo via Evan Habeeb/USA TODAY Sports Images
