Bridget Conant wrote:Amazing photos.
Bridget
I was not going down thee yesterday. Nothing about it felt like a PROTEST to honor George Floyd, To STOP police violence, or even to make a statement of unity.
It felt like some strange dance that just had to be played out.
We saw what had happened in other cities for 4 days. Peaceful protests replaced by seemingly younger angry people that were closer to anarchists (small a) than even the rioters of the 60s and 70s. This was like some sick media/party event. Kind of like Altamont, it all sounded like a great idea, but as every minute got closer, it seemed more and more wrong.
At the start I was painting my basement, listening to the radio, and the police scanner. Police had a plan the started back before Tamir Rice protest. Allow protestors/mourners their space. Show respect, but then walk off their energy and do not allow them into residential areas. This time they would not let them past East 9th, actual line was 12th, West 9th on the West and the Shoreway to Superior, with Prospect being the line.
What people do not realize is how this is planned out, right down to what cars can be lost to the event. All in an effort to respect the protesters, mourners, and those with political statements to make. But in 2020 there are others groups planning as well.
By 5pm, the fire had started with the two police cars that were there to burn, that is all I can figure out. Left away from anything they could hurt, unattended and 50' from the police garage where they would have been safe. And with the smoke, and the police the protesters started streaming out and the darker side emerged.
What struck me was the age had dropped drastically, and so had the focus.
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