To Destroy or Not to Destroy?

• Crisis
• May 1, 2015
• by Merrie Spaeth

OK, Hamlet didn’t say that, but the Mayor of Baltimore was caught on camera saying, “We also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well.”

The next day, she insisted she hadn’t said it: “I never said, nor would I ever say, that we are giving people space to destroy our city. So my words should not be twisted.” Unfortunately, not only had she said those very words, there were dozens of recordings.

I am absolutely certain she didn’t mean to say it.

If you’re checking in regularly with our YouTube account, you’ll remember that we emphasized rehearsal in our last upload. The rule of thumb is, if you haven’t rehearsed, don’t say it. Plus, “destroy” is clearly what we would call a bad word.

It’s all the more unfortunate because someone is doing a good job on the Mayor’s behalf on Twitter, energetically sending positive messages, thanking people and tracking her travel. We learned she was at Bethel AME church to comfort youth and knew when she arrived at North Avenue and Pennsylvania to drop off cleaning supplies. She (or her magic fingers stand in) was relentlessly letting followers watching #OneBaltimore and #OurCity know her thoughts. Again, it was a good learning opportunity.