To the people in and around the Baltimore area, I am BEGGING you to stay home during these riots. Please DO NOT try to go to work (unless you're in law enforcement or medical practice), to school, to participate, or to camp out and watch. People get injured and killed during riots. You can always rebuild your business. You can always make up missed school work. You can always get another job. All of that is easier than rebuilding a broken body. These are not valid enough reasons to risk your life by going through or near the riot zones.
I know what I'm talking about from personal experience. I was caught dead in the middle of the riots in Atlanta back in 1992 during the Rodney King Verdict riots. Both days that the riots were in progress, we had to evacuate the government buildings due to the encroaching violence. I remember having to walk 2 blocks to the van pool parking lot and sit there defenseless while cars were being overturned, buildings vandalized and/or looted, and angry people running around attacking any thing and any one. I witnessed some of these with my own eyes. I had to drive past the worst-hit areas while driving around picking up members of my van pool so we could get out of there. Some of my coworkers brought guns with them to a government building (a huge no-no) because they were THAT afraid. Knowing what I know now, I would have stayed home.
Please, I am begging you ... STAY HOME!!
And to the rioters ... stop claiming injustice as a reason to riot. If you can't tell the difference between a protest and a riot, then you're a part of the fucking problem!
