I see what you meant to say here, though I believe it was misunderstood by many perhaps?
And may I say, in deference to the justified outrage and anger of many, in the spirit of positive change :
THERE AIN'T NO "GLORY" IN VIOLENCE!!!
I live in Minneapolis, three blocks north of one of the epicenters. Have been watching street media since this started--videographers embedded in the protests. I've seen a lot.
Yes, the call went out on the deep web for the "Boogaloo Bois" to come to Minneapolis to "get their loot on." These accelerationists want a civil war. They bang out windows with hammers, then use protesters as human shields by hiding within the protests, thus drawing ire down on the Black Lives Matter protesters, who are blamed for the vandalism. One Boi shot somebody at a park 5 blocks from here.
It's been three nights of constant helicopter overflights, sirens, screaming, the smell of smoke, flash-bangs, gunshots. I am very, very tired and even more heartsick.
Damages: Lake street looks like Beruit. Many buildings burnt down to the brick shell. This map will show you the sheer volume of the attacks:
My personal losses include: The place I buy books, Uncle Hugo's Science Fiction--burned to the ground. That one was two blocks away. Walgreens where I pick up meds--damaged and closed. The bank we deposit rent at--same. The Target I shop at--well, that's been on national news. A business I work for--looted. The Global Market I get most stuff at--looted. The shop I had my sewing machine at for repairs--the roof's burnt off the building, and I can't reach the woman to find out how she's doing.
So many grocery stores were damaged--there is only one left functioning for three miles--food is being distributed by food drives and popup charities.
I've slept with my camping axe under my pillow for the last two nights. I've been in coping mode since this started.
Today, I am grieving. HARD.
Asking for prayers. For myself. For my ravaged city. For the soul of our country, shuddering under the strain.
RunestoneOne
Most certainly, I am praying for you, your city, our country, our disenfranchised, our broken, our disillusioned. I am so deeply sorry and terribly saddened for the losses you and your city have experienced. Words seem so futile in a time like this, but our energy as light workers is not futile and our hopes, dreams and visions of a better future are not futile.
In the meantime, while we wish for tomorrow to come fast, we can join you and your community in determination, determination that the real culprits behind the violence are not only revealed, but acknowledged by the majority of our country.
I am sending you healing, RunestoneOne and strength to get through this and the lead others by your example. Much love to you. May the oppressed be heard and may justice prevail.
@runestoneone So many prayers.
And this piece lifted my spirits: solidarity protest around the world. https://abcnews.go.com/International/black-lives-matter-protests-global-ireland-south-africa/story?id=40546549&fbclid=IwAR0MO2yYLa0oNGi2TeTB4tMVtK8dQ4w1TwUNk-hskvUz41JQ8NsrQny-yP4
@jeanne-mayell @ana @Laura-F Yes, I am also a white person of privilege. In the 90's I dined with a black friend who was also of privilege. She was getting her Ph.D. and her husband was a successful businessman. We were chatting about our teen age sons when she asked me, "Do you allow your son to run down the sidewalk?" I said, naively, "Yes, of course. Don't you." She replied, "No, we teach him to walk, even if he's late." This family lived in a well-to-do neighborhood, but it didn't matter. The danger was real everywhere. I truly got it then.
I got it too, and it crosses all socio economic groups but is much worse in lower income areas. In my sheltered life, I have known too many stories all around me. I can't imagine what it is like for people of color and especially those in lower income areas.
In 1990, the number one NBA draft pick, Dee Brown and his fiancee were stopped by a handful of Wellesley police officers with guns drawn after he was misidentified by a white bank employee as a suspect in a robbery. Brown was forced out of his car where he was parked to mail a letter at the Post Office and forced searched on the ground spread eagle. His fiancee sat in the car after telling the police they were ruffing up the top NBA draft pick. Then she just had one thing to say: "I hate fucking cops." Once he showed them identification and they realized their mistake, the police let him go. Had he been poor or just alone without identification, he could have been killed.
Afterwards, my husband and I were talking about it with a black journalist friend who was surprised that we didn't realize being detained for nothing other than being black was common place for black men. A highly educated, well-spoken man, he had gotten stopped many times, including one scary incident where the police detained him for several hours while he was out jogging because someone reported a shoplifting by a man of color.
@laura-f I live in St. Paul- thank you for sharing the quote from the restaurant owner; it completely encapsulates how I have been feeling about bearing witness to the pain and suffering of our friends and neighbors in service of justice.
My heart is with you, and my prayers for an end to the violence.
Violence and hatred just manifest more violence, death and destruction.
It was the violent murder of George Floyd that sparked this volcano of outrage, but it has taken on another life as the anger and aggression of many different influences have congealed to create an entity of gargantuan proportions.
I am deeply saddened by the fact that Mr Floyd's life was taken in such horrendous violence, and continues to be dishonored by more of the same.
There is a better way forward ....
Trust in Spirit and stay grounded as it all comes to Light ?
@runestoneone Effing Hell. I looked at the map My family visited Minneapolis 2 years ago on vacation and thought "what a nice place this is". I hope you and yours are still OK!
(DISCLAIMER: I get that every "nice place" may have its undercurrents of bad sh*t that needs to be rooted out, but damn anyway.)
As you could see from my may posts last night, it was a difficult night. Watching the hundreds, likely over a thousand people, storming the Scottsdale Fashion Square mall and raiding the businesses in the area was surreal. At the same time police in downtown Phoenix were trying to wrangle in a mass of protestors. We now have a weeklong curfew which like many other states will begin at 8:00pm. In our case, we also had a police caused death of a civilian on Monday which is causing turmoil in Arizona. A state DPS trooper came across a car blocking partially a lane on the side of a highway. The man in the car was asleep. The stop ended with the man in the vehicle shot dead and no dash cam or body camera footage to show what exactly happened.
Now for the positive news in this big mess. There were some good things that came from last night here in Arizona. This morning, many volunteers showed up with brooms, bags and buckets and helped clean up the local shops. If you go to the link below and scroll, you will find a collection of photos of some of the volunteers hard at work helping.
Also, if you haven't read their full statements ( posted a few pages back) Joe Biden and John Lewis each showed their humanity and leadership with beautiful words to guide and inspire us all. You should read them and not just a quote from them.
In the unraveling thread I posted a number of journalists whoo were either arrested or shot with rubber bullets over the past few days. One female journalist is now perminately blind because of a rubber bullet.
Live last night on TV in Arizona, I saw a police officer aim their gun at journalists you could see the barrel of the gun aimed directly at the photo journalists. It was that photo journalists perspective that was being recorded. The lens of the photo journalist captured the riffle trained right on him. Lens on lens so to speak. It scared the heck out of me. There was no mistaking that the photo journalist and reporter were "press".
I also heard an officer in Phoenix tell a journalist that because the protest had now been deemed an unlawful assembly, the reporter could legally be arrested for being there covering the story.
That was a shocking statement to hear. Why is it ok to arrest the press covering an unlawful assembly????