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MSNBC's Hot Takes on Baltimore Riots

April 28, 2015

MSNBC's takes on the violence and rioting in Baltimore Monday night were just as sizzling as its November coverage of Ferguson following the decision not to indict Officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown.

Rachel Maddow pondered whether the police were "a little out of control" for chucking a projectile thrown at them back at a rioter. Chris Matthews blamed "right-to-work" states for stealing jobs from the city and contributing to the economic conditions of the city and frustrations of the rioters.

"I wish the jobs hadn't first gone south, Congressman, because that's where they went first," Matthews said. "And they went to the right-to-work states. You know where they went? Where the unions didn't have any power, you could get people to work for nothing, and the stuff wasn't that good that was made down there."

"From housing to unemployment to poverty, this just became the spark on something that was boiling beneath the surface for a long time and they felt neglected and ignored?" Al Sharpton asked one guest in a typically leading question.

Also, silver-tongued Michael Eric Dyson didn't disappoint, delivering a monologue that included attacks on the Baltimore Ravens and Baltimore Orioles "with their tax-exempt status" and "being given tremendous goodies" resulting in a contrast between the "urban blight" and the "extraordinary accumulation of capital for some people."

"It's easy to point a gun of analysis at these people and shoot them with the bullets of our condemnation, as opposed to picking up the narrative that says all of them have already been besieged, and we have together have to find a way out of this," he said.

Dyson has a habit of speaking in rhythmic metaphors that make sense to few.

Daniel Bassali contributed to this article.