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Minneapolis is burning
May. 29th, 2020 07:35 amI live a mile from where George Floyd died. I live a mile and a half from the 3rd Precinct, which was torched last night.
I can smell the fires and the tear gas when I step onto the front porch. I can see the smoke rising above the trees.
Yes, I blame the police.
On Wednesday night, I went to the protest at 38th and Chicago Avenue, where George Floyd was murdered. The people there were tearful and angry, but calm and dignified. I thought about going to the precinct but figured tensions would be higher there.
I was right.
The people there were just as dignified, angry, but just as calm. And how were they treated? The cops got up on the roof and greeted them with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Do you want to know why the people of Minneapolis are angry? They are angry because of racists cops. The knee on the neck move that was used to murder George Floyd has been known to endanger life since 1995 and was removed from cop training in 2016. Less than 10% of cops in Minneapolis live inside the city. They are a suburban occupying force. The head of the police union is a white supremacist.
The people of Minneapolis want the cops who murdered George Floyd to be arrested and charged, but the authorities said no, we need more investigation, we need more evidence.
You have a video showing the cops murdering that poor man ON CAMERA? What else do you fucking need?
If you ignore our just demands and you ignore us when we ask politely and then respond with rubber bullets and tear gas, then we are going to stop asking politely. And if you treat people with contempt and call them thugs, out of grief and rage they will eventually act like thugs.
I'm grieving for the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I'm grieving for the black and brown people who have put up with this shit for years, who I watched chalk on the pavement at 38th and Chicago: "Where is my justice?" I'm grieving for the small business owners, many minority-owned, who were struggling with the pandemic and now this. Many have been totally destroyed. These are places I've gone for years. Of the five closest grocery stores to my house, one closed and was leveled in 2019 to make way for a rebuild and one was closed due to the pandemic. The three others, Target, Cub, and Aldi's, were looted and/or burned Wednesday night.
My boss, the bishop of Minneapolis in the ELCA Lutheran Church, held a Zoom call for the rostered leaders (pastors and deacons) yesterday; about 300 attended. Our synod has been working for several years on white supremacy issues: we have a racial justice organizer in our office, and we hold racial justice meetings every couple of months. We are trying to get a racial justice liaison connected with every congregation. I serve on the racial justice board of my own congregation.
For the Zoom call, the synod had speakers of color who spoke movingly about their anger, and how they were trying to serve and lead in the light of this crisis. Two pastors spoke who lead two congregations, one a block from where George Floyd died and one a block and a half from the 3rd police precinct, in the midst of all the fires. That second one, Holy Trinity, was asked to open at 10 pm on Wednesday night to serve as a medical evacuation point for the protesters hit with rubber bullets and tear gas, and they immediately said 'yes,' opened up within 20 minutes and served all night. I am so proud to serve with an organization that is on the right side and right at the front lines of this battle.
I went to the synod office yesterday to print some things. On the way home, I drove a ways on Lake street. I saw the broken windows. I saw the cops in full riot gear standing guard in front of a pawn shop. I saw the business owners putting up the plywood. I saw the graffiti.
Tracy Chapman came on the radio and sang this song. I had tears on my face all the way home.
Black Lives Matter. I'm on the side of the protesters.
Edited to add: This is the moving video made by Ingrid Rasmussen, the pastor of Holy Trinity, the church serving the protestors by the police precinct. In it, she walks around and shows what has happened to the surroundings around the church, and about what has happened. Note: she's clearly exhausted, has been dealing with tear gas all night, and she's eight months pregnant.
I can smell the fires and the tear gas when I step onto the front porch. I can see the smoke rising above the trees.
Yes, I blame the police.
On Wednesday night, I went to the protest at 38th and Chicago Avenue, where George Floyd was murdered. The people there were tearful and angry, but calm and dignified. I thought about going to the precinct but figured tensions would be higher there.
I was right.
The people there were just as dignified, angry, but just as calm. And how were they treated? The cops got up on the roof and greeted them with tear gas and rubber bullets.
Do you want to know why the people of Minneapolis are angry? They are angry because of racists cops. The knee on the neck move that was used to murder George Floyd has been known to endanger life since 1995 and was removed from cop training in 2016. Less than 10% of cops in Minneapolis live inside the city. They are a suburban occupying force. The head of the police union is a white supremacist.
The people of Minneapolis want the cops who murdered George Floyd to be arrested and charged, but the authorities said no, we need more investigation, we need more evidence.
You have a video showing the cops murdering that poor man ON CAMERA? What else do you fucking need?
If you ignore our just demands and you ignore us when we ask politely and then respond with rubber bullets and tear gas, then we are going to stop asking politely. And if you treat people with contempt and call them thugs, out of grief and rage they will eventually act like thugs.
I'm grieving for the people of Minneapolis and St. Paul. I'm grieving for the black and brown people who have put up with this shit for years, who I watched chalk on the pavement at 38th and Chicago: "Where is my justice?" I'm grieving for the small business owners, many minority-owned, who were struggling with the pandemic and now this. Many have been totally destroyed. These are places I've gone for years. Of the five closest grocery stores to my house, one closed and was leveled in 2019 to make way for a rebuild and one was closed due to the pandemic. The three others, Target, Cub, and Aldi's, were looted and/or burned Wednesday night.
My boss, the bishop of Minneapolis in the ELCA Lutheran Church, held a Zoom call for the rostered leaders (pastors and deacons) yesterday; about 300 attended. Our synod has been working for several years on white supremacy issues: we have a racial justice organizer in our office, and we hold racial justice meetings every couple of months. We are trying to get a racial justice liaison connected with every congregation. I serve on the racial justice board of my own congregation.
For the Zoom call, the synod had speakers of color who spoke movingly about their anger, and how they were trying to serve and lead in the light of this crisis. Two pastors spoke who lead two congregations, one a block from where George Floyd died and one a block and a half from the 3rd police precinct, in the midst of all the fires. That second one, Holy Trinity, was asked to open at 10 pm on Wednesday night to serve as a medical evacuation point for the protesters hit with rubber bullets and tear gas, and they immediately said 'yes,' opened up within 20 minutes and served all night. I am so proud to serve with an organization that is on the right side and right at the front lines of this battle.
I went to the synod office yesterday to print some things. On the way home, I drove a ways on Lake street. I saw the broken windows. I saw the cops in full riot gear standing guard in front of a pawn shop. I saw the business owners putting up the plywood. I saw the graffiti.
Tracy Chapman came on the radio and sang this song. I had tears on my face all the way home.
Black Lives Matter. I'm on the side of the protesters.
Edited to add: This is the moving video made by Ingrid Rasmussen, the pastor of Holy Trinity, the church serving the protestors by the police precinct. In it, she walks around and shows what has happened to the surroundings around the church, and about what has happened. Note: she's clearly exhausted, has been dealing with tear gas all night, and she's eight months pregnant.
