Pessimistic View of Baltimore?

Pessimistic View of Baltimore?

Last Friday, March 16th, for the second time this year, Loyola hosted a panel of writers from Baltimore. Each writer brought in a different perspective about their writing and what strategies they use to write, where they get inspiration for what they write, and deciding how to portray what they wish to write about. In Baltimore city, there are many stories everyday for any of the given writers to choose from, which for someone like Gregory Kane of the Baltimore Sun, choosing what to write can be very difficult. Gregory Kane was the most interesting writer to me personally and who I wish to focus this blog entry on as he had a lasting impression on me.

Kane talked about his writing job at the Baltimore Sun. He discussed how one day the week prior to speaking there were four murders in one day. I have lived in a small town in New Hampshire for my whole life, and only once has there been a murder within 20 minutes of my house. It involved a kid who got beaten up, literally to death, because some other kids wanted his bike. It happened in the town next to mine, and for my community, and everyone in it, people were shocked, outraged, and there was a loud public outcry of why and how this could have happened. Then I come to Baltimore and someone like Gregory Kane comes to speak and tells me of four murders in one day. Where is the public outcry? How does this happen?

Too further some disturbing incidents with some head turning behavior is how Kane described public officials who he asks questions to during situations like these. Kane told the audience that phrases like “Its under investigation” really means “We don’t want to tell you”. He also says he does not trust many public officials, along with corrections officers, and that he actually gets much of his information from inmates. He said inmates for the majority of the time give the best answers. Perhaps this is because they have nothing to lose if they are in jail already, or maybe because they feel cheated by the system and by them talking, some people will become upset. Too bad for the inmates, most people, myself included, would be more likely to believe a public official, or a corrections officer.

Listening to Kane talk about many of the injustices, corruptions and bizarre things that happen in Baltimore, reminded me of the David Simon lecture. Simon is a writer for “The Wire” and was once a colleague of Kane at the Baltimore Sun. Kane and Simon both have a very pessimistic view of Baltimore and where it is heading. Simon said the poor become poorer, the rich richer, and the government does nothing to help change this, and in fact promotes it. I like to think that the elected and appointed officials of government would do what is in the best interest of the people, but is it time to start to question them?

I do not have any answers to these questions, as neither did Simon or Kane. They are writers who try to, through their writing (and TV show) portray the real Baltimore. I am not as pessimistic as them and believe that there is still a lot of good things happening in the city. If our writers start to question our government, maybe the citizens should start to as well. I am like most citizens however, waiting for someone else to do something or prove to me of injustice, rather than do something myself.