Late Monday afternoon, through Monday evening and into the early morning hours of Tuesday we were once again presented with "live television" coverage of another riot in another US city.

                Like the riots in Ferguson, Missouri a few months back, viewers were able to watch as scenes of destruction and lawlessness at the hands of fellow Americans washed across the TV screen while many of us watched in disbelief that something like this could happen in the United States of America.

                Like the riots in Ferguson, this one in Baltimore came after an African-American died, allegedly as the result of an encounter with police.  In Ferguson, the investigation went all the way to the federal level and into the hands of the president's hand-picked attorney general (now former) Eric Holder; no charges were filed.

                In Baltimore, the investigation is just beginning.

                In both cases, most family members of the deceased young men called for peaceful protests.  They wanted no violence out of respect for their sons and brothers.

                It's hard to watch these riots unfold and believe that the farthest thing from these thugs' minds is stealing and causing injury, fear, destruction and downright mayhem and that their intent was only to respect the deceased.  Their intentions had nothing to do with respect and everything to do with an excuse to loot and vandalize.

                Watching the police standing in line and seeing horrendous crimes being committed caused many to wonder, "Were they showing restraint or were they ordered not to intervene?"               

               Were any of the viewers of this live broadcast afraid of what would happen to them if they were there and caught outside the police perimeter? 

                Baltimore officials went on camera, spoke many words and said nothing.  It seemed, and looked, like nobody was in charge and nobody wanted to take charge.  If there was a plan to deal with a riot in Baltimore, nobody knew about it.

                As the troublemakers physically pounded their victims with rocks, bottles and fists, did they even know who they were hurting?  When they torched the buildings did they wonder where their neighbors would purchase their groceries and prescriptions on Tuesday?

                When the thugs cut the fire hose, twice, did they give any thought to the firefighters inside the building who could have become trapped or worse when their water supply suddenly stopped?  When they threw the full liquor bottle at the fire engine responding to an emergency, did they wonder what would happen if the driver lost control of the big rig and drove into the crowd?  Of course not – it was about them and nobody else.  Dozens of injuries and scores of arrests later what did these thugs accomplish in the memory of the two, dead young men?

                This wasn't pent-up rage by a community looking to vent.  Those people were peacefully protesting in another part of Baltimore.  Their cries for justice were drowned out by others who were busy stealing, vandalizing, assaulting and starting fires; and yes, making excuses for their behavior.

                The violent aggressors who chose to burn the neighborhoods in Baltimore and Ferguson showed a willingness, no make that a desire, to bring others down because they don't want to lift themselves up.