The Mayor of Baltimore Has Suggested an Unusual Solution to the Violence in the City…
Baltimore is probably best known for the famous TV show The Wire, rightfully regarded as one of the greatest series of all time. The show deals with the intertwining relationships of the police force, the community and crime that has affected the Maryland city for too long.
Sadly, the violence and crime in this city are not entirely fictional. It is notorious for gun and gang crime, while corruption throughout its politics and police force has also been an issue with police previously filmed planting evidence.
At the weekend one person was shot while at least seven were stabbed to death. Now the Mayor of the city has suggested a novel solution that could potentially reduce some of this senseless violence. He believes that city boxing rings could be used to end disputes. Baltimore is home to the likes of Gervonta Davis and has a rich history of boxing.
Senseless Violence
The mayor of Baltimore Jack Young believes that drastic action is necessary to alleviate the ridiculous violence that has tarnished the city for so long. He lost a nephew to the violence and genuinely believes that open-air boxing matches could be a way to sort out grievances in a controlled manner.
“Gun violence has been plaguing this city for the last 10 years,” said Young to reporters. “The murder rate in this city and non-fatal shootings have increased. I’m not happy with it and neither should the citizens of Baltimore.”
“If they want to really settle them, we can have them down at the civic center, put a boxing ring up and let them box it out,” said Young. “Those kinds of things, you know, and the best man wins and the beef should be over. Those are some of the things I’m thinking about.”
Bad idea?
Unsurprisingly some citizens of the stricken city are not very excited by the idea. They would prefer that violence is not an answer to violence. They would prefer that a more progressive idea is found to solve this serious issue.
Yolanda Pulley did not agree with Wallace or Mayor Young. “For you to promote a boxing ring for our city streets, one, are they going have to pay to get in, or, two, this is going to be like Athens all over again. I understand it’s history repeating itself, but that’s by far the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard in my life.”
City Council President Brandon Scott is also not keen on the idea. “I am not the person who wants us to go that route. I understand what the mayor is saying, and I understand that there are people across the city who remember a time when disputes used to be handled that way.”
Why Not?
David Sewell, the co-owner of Charm City Boxing in Baltimore, was also asked about the proposal. Obviously, he was supportive of the idea. In his eyes, controlled violence is better than the mass chaos and death on the streets. He said:
“If you fight someone in the ring, you get rewarded for it, but when you fight somebody in the streets, you get rewarded, but you’re in prison. You know what I mean, so which route would you rather go?”
