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According to this Republican state lawmaker....
[h=1]Cumberland County state rep. 'thanks' Obama for Baltimore riots[/h]
yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_28012913/cumberland-county-state-rep-thanks-obama-baltimore-riots
A Cumberland County state representative took to Twitter Tuesday to blame President Barack Obama for the Baltimore riots and social upheaval.
"When you preach a creed of resentment and envy, you reap a harvest of division and destruction. Yes, I'm talking to you, President Obama," Republican Rep. Stephen Bloom tweeted in the morning.
In phone interview Tuesday night, Bloom said the president's tone over the six years he's been in office has encouraged tension and division instead of reconciliation.
"He seems to be encouraging people to embrace ... class envy," Bloom said, adding Obama's rhetoric makes some people suspicious of the legal system.
Looting and rock-and bottle-throwing broke out just hours after the Monday funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. It was the worst such violence in the U.S. since the unrest that erupted last year over the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Responses: The tweets from Bloom's accounts garnered mostly angry responses, with one Twitter user calling him a "partisan joke," while another said "This comment reflects a complete lack of historical perspective and willful obtuseness."
A second Twitter account associated with Bloom tweeted the same message about the same time as the riots continued into a second day. An account linked to state Rep. Gordon Denlinger, a Republican who represents part of Lancaster County, retweeted Bloom's tweet.
But Bloom said he also received responses from people who supported what he wrote.
Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York City, said this is tenuous time in the country, but it's also a time for compassion.
"I believe we would all do well to exercise greater empathy. Empathy towards law enforcement, empathy towards victims and their families and empathy towards those that feel marginalized," he said. "Compassion is contagious and can bring people together rather than divide."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
— Reach Greg Gross at ggross@yorkdispatch.com.
[h=1]Cumberland County state rep. 'thanks' Obama for Baltimore riots[/h]
yorkdispatch.com/breaking/ci_28012913/cumberland-county-state-rep-thanks-obama-baltimore-riotsA Cumberland County state representative took to Twitter Tuesday to blame President Barack Obama for the Baltimore riots and social upheaval.
"When you preach a creed of resentment and envy, you reap a harvest of division and destruction. Yes, I'm talking to you, President Obama," Republican Rep. Stephen Bloom tweeted in the morning.
In phone interview Tuesday night, Bloom said the president's tone over the six years he's been in office has encouraged tension and division instead of reconciliation.
"He seems to be encouraging people to embrace ... class envy," Bloom said, adding Obama's rhetoric makes some people suspicious of the legal system.
Looting and rock-and bottle-throwing broke out just hours after the Monday funeral of Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man who suffered a fatal spinal cord injury while in police custody. It was the worst such violence in the U.S. since the unrest that erupted last year over the death of Michael Brown, the unarmed black 18-year-old shot by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri.
Responses: The tweets from Bloom's accounts garnered mostly angry responses, with one Twitter user calling him a "partisan joke," while another said "This comment reflects a complete lack of historical perspective and willful obtuseness."
A second Twitter account associated with Bloom tweeted the same message about the same time as the riots continued into a second day. An account linked to state Rep. Gordon Denlinger, a Republican who represents part of Lancaster County, retweeted Bloom's tweet.
But Bloom said he also received responses from people who supported what he wrote.
Rep. Kevin Schreiber, D-York City, said this is tenuous time in the country, but it's also a time for compassion.
"I believe we would all do well to exercise greater empathy. Empathy towards law enforcement, empathy towards victims and their families and empathy towards those that feel marginalized," he said. "Compassion is contagious and can bring people together rather than divide."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
— Reach Greg Gross at ggross@yorkdispatch.com.