George Floyd and life in Minneapolis

[catherineldf]

Hello! Greetings to all the new people who started following me after virtual WisCon. I try to post out here roughly once a week, usually with a mix of writing and personal updates. Here is a personal update that is not about me, per se.

What's going on right now as you have all no doubt seen online or on the news is that the Minneapolis Police Department straight up murdered an African American man named George Floyd on camera about 4 blocks from our house on Monday. George was a security guard at a local night club and a beloved member of his community, based on what I've seen.

So last night, I went down with some friends and we joined the march to demand justice for George and other victims of police violence. It was a very powerful march and there were thousands of marchers, plus hundreds of people hanging signs out of of their houses and cars to show their support. We chose not to walk up to the 3rd Precinct, which is where things got lively (see photos with tear gas and rubber bullets). Today, there are more scattered rallies, our neighborhoods are being buzzed by police helicopters and it is all pretty hellish. The police officers who killed George Floyd have been fired but the MPD is running amok (there is a long, multi-part story about how the MPD got to be such a mess that I'll skip for now) and it's not clear that the county attorney will press charges. Said count attorney is notorious for not charging the police, when he can get away with it. Short version: it is all horrible and sad and enraging. Our city and our community have many lovely things to recommend them and I hope to see those things again. After police prosecutions, significant jail time and a complete overhaul of the MPD.

Comments

[inametaphor]

I love so, so many things about my adopted city, but the MPD and their actions just fills me with impotent rage.

ETA: This particular instance is apparently so grievous that the (white) CEO of the Fortune 500 I work for sent out an all employee email talking how it was important this was, how he had no words for how this must feel to employees of color, and how we need to do better. (Why this particular instance and not all the many, many others? Who knows. It was a shock nonetheless.)

[catherineldf]

Well, it's local (very local for some of us) and it was footage that is hard for even the densest white person to ignore, provided they aren't made of evil and stupid. Right now, I'm really hoping that I'm hearing fireworks outside, speaking of very local.

The MPD has been a complete trashfire for decades. I've lived here over 20 years and have seen an incredible number of attempts to regulate it, rein it in, reform it, etc. Bob Kroll is both a symptom and a disease.

[queenoftheskies]

There was a protest here in LA by Black Lives Matter-LA because of this brutal murder. It was mostly peaceful and there were no arrests.

I just...can't. Can't understand how one human being can do this to another.

I hope you are safe since you live so nearby.

[catherineldf]

Thank you! We're okay, if freaked out and upset.

[marthawells]

That video was so horrible. I hope they can get those cops charged and arrested and reform the department -- it's what we need to do all over the rest of the country.

[catherineldf]

Our County Attorney is...not good about charging the police with crimes and everyone who pays attention knows it. The assumption is that he's going to screw this up. MN ACLU is already demanding an independent prosecutor. Meanwhile, the MN National Guard has moved in and we've lost 2 people so far, and an enormous number of small businesses run by POC, immigrants and other folks, office buildings, retail spaces, restaurants, etc. :-(((

[transcendancing]

*love*