another day

[mellowtigger]

This is the view from my front door this morning. This is the weather for the protests yesterday and last night.

I'm feeling slightly better this morning. Still enormously distracted, though. Definitely not feeling focused on work like I should be at this hour, while I'm writing this blog entry. I'm reading up on the events of last night, and it's just as bad as I expected.

I've told this story before (back during yet another police murder of another local black man), but it bears repeating.

I'm old enough that I remember when cops would enter gay bars for no justifiable reason whatsoever. The too-loud dance music would immediately end, the disco lights would go off, the loud chatter in the bar would stop. White lights would turn on... and then there would be nothing but the sound of police boots as a group of cops entered the room. They walked the entire perimeter of the small bar, then they walked out again. No other sound. No word spoken by anyone.  Both sides looking at each other, wondering "What will they do?", and both sides knowing that only one side will suffer if anybody does anything at all to disturb this ritual display of authority and submission.

I remember.  I was there.

This old (white male straight (I assume)) Minnesota professor's summary is still best for these recent events:

"Goddamn, but I have learned to hate the police.
https://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2021/04/12/ftp/"

- Twitter

Another day.  My thanks to all the protesters who continued yesterday, while I'm feeling old and tired and frustrated.