Baltimore: An American City
I love my country. I love my Charm City. I’m not black, white, red, yellow or nothing. I’m an American.
Robert Valentine
In the midst of Monday’s rioting in Baltimore (and let’s be clear; it was a riot, not a protest), CNN interviewed a tall, elderly black man who identified himself as Robert Valentine. Standing between a line of police officers and a violent mob, and dressed head to toe in black, Mr. Valentine placed himself in the middle of a street and projected a beacon of calm in a hail storm of bricks and bottles. Mr. Valentine said he was a Vietnam War veteran who served 30 years in the military and earned the rank of Master Sergeant. With his lean build, wire-rimmed glasses and formidable attire, Mr. Valentine, despite his advancing years, cut an imposing figure and looked like someone you didn’t want to mess with. He intimidated the hell out of me, and I was 3,000 miles away.
“I’m not black, white, red, yellow, nothing…I’m an American,” said Mr. Valentine in a firm, no-nonsense voice. His eyes never drifted toward the camera. Instead, he stared straight ahead, locked in on a gang of angry teenagers. “I’ve seen more than all this. I’ve been through the riots already. This right here is not relevant. They need to have their butts at home. They need to be in their home units with their families studying and doing something with their life.”
You know what Mr. Valentine sounded like? A father. And if he were my dad, I doubt I’d feel compelled to throw a rock at a policeman.
Why? I could list a host of reasons. My disrespect of law enforcement might disappoint him, and I couldn’t live with his disdain. Or maybe I’d get arrested, and my dad’s hard earned money would go toward making bail instead of putting food on the table. Or he might get angry and whip off his belt, laying a beating on me that I’d never forget. Whatever the reason, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t feel good about pissing off the old man.
Or maybe, as part of my upbringing, my dad would share with me his life experiences. How the world is not always fair, and how men like Martin Luther King proved that nonviolent protest is an effective way to bring attention, and solutions, to a neglected situation. And when it came to dealing with people, especially those in authority, my dad could tell me that whether someone is an athlete, a teacher, a business executive, a neighbor, a mailman, and yes, even a cop, most people are inherently good, but always be aware there are bad apples in every bunch.
Maybe it’s just me, a man who witnessed five decades of seismic changes in American society, but I believe if America had more fathers who thought, spoke and acted like Robert Valentine, we’d have a lot less Ferguson’s, North Charleston’s, and Monday nights in Baltimore.
Just one man’s opinion.