Remember the violence in Ferguson last year? Remember the violence in Baltimore less than a month ago? Remember the protests in New York less than six months ago? There were scenes of police in riot gear, National Guard troops suited up and armed to the teeth. Those that broke into buildings and caused damages were called thugs. There was a small debate among the talking head pundits on television on the use of the word thug; whether it had become a substitution for the N-word. Some on the conservative side wondered what the President was going to say or do about the violence.

Let’s be real about what was going on with the maneuvering in those images and discussions. Because the outrage and demonstrations occurred in minority (read: Black) communities, anyone who worked to help the black community was supposed to have an explanation for the protests and destruction that happened during those events. Memes were sent out with the black principles in the situation, President Obama, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, State Attorney general Marilyn Mosby and recently appointed Loretta Lynch, either in support or in condemnation of their actions. No matter the direction of the memes one thing was clear, the focus was all of these people were black, dealing with most decided to describe as a black only issue.

For all the talk about not parsing things into race, when it comes to violence and blacks or Hispanics are involved, race is placed front and center at the cause of the violence. What happens in all of these cases is the victim that caused the initial protest, normally the dead victim who cannot speak for themselves, is investigated to the point of demonization. Travon Martin isn’t a mischievous teenager but a towering thug. A man shot as he is running away from the police has to be someone with a long criminal record that has to be examined at length. Freddie Gray had a preexisting condition that caused him to die by . . . I don’t know, some strange spontaneity and not because of a rough drive by the police.

Why am I bringing these past events up? Over the weekend there was a violent event in Waco Texas. You may have heard about it. Over 100 people affiliated with 3-5 biker gangs had a fight and shootout at a local restaurant. Nine people were killed, over 40 injured and over 100 people arrested. It has only been a day, but from the news reports I’ve seen, from both newspapers and television, the group hasn’t been described as thugs. Police have talked about the carnage in and around the restaurant, an area they have continually mentioned is a strip mall that was full of families, and the senselessness and brutality of the crime still keeps the biker gangs in the light of a few good old boys letting off steam. In the hours since the incident, it was learned that the restaurant knew the gangs were showing up and seemed to have encouraged it. This from a report that said the restaurant had Biker Nights. The police have said in interviews they knew for about A MONTH something might be going down with the gangs, yet when they informed the restaurant they said they were met with non-cooperation.

When people were having peaceful protests about killings in Baltimore, New York, Ferguson and the like, the police presence was huge relative to the threat. We can argue about if excessive police force is necessary on peaceful protests but the police had a situation where they knew rival gang members were going to be at a central location. Why weren’t more forces called in to protest the citizens? This wasn’t a spontaneous gather, like what has happened in protests in those other cities mentioned. These weren’t peaceful citizens rallying for a cause, as in those other cities. These were biker gangs meeting in a concentrated area, known to have been violent by the police and I would argue a sufficient show of force wasn’t used to quell the situation. Going further, the management of the restaurant shouldn’t had let the meeting take place and the police should have been able to prevent it from occurring if the restaurant wasn’t willing to do so.

How is the story being reported in the press at the moment? As I said, the gang members haven’t been called thugs by the police or the press. Here are some of the descriptions I’ve seen on the incident.

Even before the deadly melee started, police were already in place, expecting a ruckus.

The fracas apparently started inside the restaurant's bathroom with something as simple as a shove or a disrespectful glance.

That brawl quickly escalated into a fistfight, which led to a knife fight.

The brouhaha spilled into the parking lot.

Some of the lines were uttered by the police spokesperson on scene. Words like fracas and brawl are used to explain the altercation that happened. Words like riot and firefight are used. It’s not just the words that are used. Remember the images. Angry black youth throwing bottles, aerial shots showing the carnage and area of destruction. This is the iconic photo that has been released from the incident in Waco.

Obviously there were other police officers on site, but one officer watching that many gang members? Oh, and he has his back turned to the crowd of criminals. One more thing, notice that a few of them are on cellphones. Known motorcycle gang members in gang clothes (there are at least 2 separate gangs in the photo) and everyone is chilling like they’re at a picnic. There are other photos of the incident showing some gang members with what appears to be Nazi inspired tattoos and Confederate flag patches. Those photos also show the gang members sitting around like their waiting outside a neighborhood restaurant on a Sunday afternoon for brunch, not in the context of a violent shootout that left nine people dead.

Where I get upset with the coverage of events such as the one in Waco when compared to Baltimore, Ferguson and others that have involved black or Hispanic concerns is how the coverage places the context in such a negative light of one and apparently positive in another. In most cases, the violent images are found for events that for the most part are peaceful protests. Whatever violence that occurs in magnified and made the main part of the story, even though those incidents might not be connected to the protest. In Waco, you have a situation where the local authorities knew rival and violent gang members were going to appear at a location weeks in advanced. The local establishment allowed and encouraged biker gangs to frequent the establishment. A fight broke out where guns, knives and chains were used in the fight, causing the death of nine and injuring hundreds. With the seriousness, damage to property and lives that this fight brought, and add to the fact this was in an area frequented by the good and decent citizens of Waco, why have there been no denouncement of biker gangs and violence by those in authority? All of those people who demand answers from black politicians and community leaders, are they asking white politicians the same questions in the wake of this gang violence? Will we be subjected to days of speculation about the violent nature of the biker gang subculture? I doubt we will.