Baltimore is on fire.

Where there was once a justifiable protest that could help push the nation toward discussing race, instead we are forced to look at the issue of violence toward police.

With a dramatically increasing number of black men dying at the hands of white police, we are inching our way toward acknowledging that there is a race problem in America — perhaps we’d even discuss police reform.

The nation wants to march for your cause, but violence only turns people against you.

The explosion of riots in Baltimore pivots the focus to an unproductive conversation.

It is important that we don’t commit violence or damage other people’s property. We challenge police if and when they are wrong, but we shouldn’t assault them.

Yes, civil unrest is a sign that something is wrong, but physically attacking an institution for the actions of a few teaches people little, and killing people means you’ve become the bad guy. Killing doesn’t even make your point — dead people can learn nothing.

Rioting is an inefficient method of protest. Police begin to look justified in the actions of some of their officers.

The sad part is, the number of black men dying because of white police isn’t increasing at all; in actuality, it’s simply that the media are finally paying attention to an issue that was always there to begin with.

There is no question to whether or not we need to talk about race and acknowledge the past as something people shouldn’t just “get over.”

The past is not in the past. The past is still with us, today.

But how can we move forward when people are so upset? We have to take a break — walk away. It works when you’re upset in day-to-day life, and it can work here, too.

Civilians should go home and take a day or two to rethink their actions from the past couple of days.

Police will be so pleased that the fighting is over, that the stress level will lower and they might even be willing to admit that something bad did happen.

In Baltimore, the rioting started because Freddie Gray, a black man, died in police custody.

The violence hasn’t shined a light on the injustice. Rather, the reverse is true. Violence causes the American people to forget names and get incensed with a city out of control.