I left my house is Northwest DC, near the Maryland border, around 1:30 pm Saturday afternoon. I just started walking toward the White House with no real plan. I wanted to catch a bus, but my transit app wasn't giving me any information, so I got a Bikeshare bike and started riding.
Before I left, I pinned a very simple, homemade Black Lives Matter sign to the front of my tee.* I figured I might want my hands free, so I purposely made a sign I wouldn't have to carry, and I was immediately thankful for that decision, given my mode of transportation. As I rode through well-to-do residential neighborhoods of DC, miles from the protests, I would be lying if I said I didn't feel a bit self-conscious. Each time I rode by a black person -- out walking the dog or jogging -- I wondered what they were thinking. Did they appreciate my support? Did they even support BLM? Did they dismiss me as a Johnny-Come-Lately who'd be gone once George Floyd stopped trending on Twitter? Or did they pay me no mind at all, and I should get out of my own head and focus on avoiding potholes, given that I wasn't even wearing a helmet? I settled on the latter.
*Although I didn't plan it out, I happened to be wearing my Indie 500 crossword puzzle tournament shirt -- a fitting choice given this year's competition was schedule for this weekend, before Covid-19 forced it to be rescheduled. Also, so many people in the crossword puzzle community are committed to social justice causes, so it's a shirt I wear with pride.
Once I got to the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center, about three miles from the White House, I started noticing signs of protest and remembrance.
The first one was for Tamir Rice. I've long felt like his story didn't sparked the amount of national outrage it warranted. He was a just dumb kid (i.e., a kid) playing with a toy gun; he didn't really understand the seriousness of what he was doing. The person who called 9-1-1 told the dispatcher (twice) that the gun was probably fake, and the person wielding it was probably a juvenile, but nevertheless the responding officer shot and killed Rice within mere seconds of arriving. His police car hadn't even completely stopped yet.
The officer (who had an extremely spotty history) was not indicted because it was argued that Rice was reaching for his waistband when he was shot. This illustrates how messed up things are. When it's a grown white man holding a real gun, police are somehow able to demonstrate amazing restraint to avoid violence. When it's a black kid holding a fake gun, it's one, two, bang.
As I approached the heart of the protest, I started noticing little pockets of people milling around the periphery. I like pictures of people taking pictures.
Here's what what I saw as I went into the heart of the protest.
Here's what what I saw as I went into the heart of the protest.
There was so much free bottled water and snacks, which is great, but I only drank one small bottle of water the entire time I was there (plus a can of sparkling water I brought from home). I hate the waste of plastic bottles, and I'm a frequent pee-er, and I wasn't sure what the bathroom situation would be.
Yes! I've read some stuff on Twitter saying "voting doesn't matter," "all politicians are bad," etc., etc., and I have no time for this mindset. Vote!
My heart is with this sign; my brain is not. Also, I don't really know what "defund" means in this context. I prefer to say "reimagine the police," even though I know it sounds too rainbows-and-unicorns-y. Defund the police is already becoming the boogeyman phrase from Trump and his Trumpies. (It's going to become the new Antifa.) When Biden is asked about Trump saying he wants to the defund the police, I hope he doesn't take the bait. This is what I think he should say:
It's a lie. That's not my policy. He's using distraction and scare tactics, so he can strip people of their constitutional rights and continue to play the part of wannabe dictator. Don't fall for it. I'm in favor of reforms that will ensure police protect and serve all people. African-Americans have been telling us for so long that they often feel neglected or oppressed by the police. Law-abiding black citizens of all walks of life -- deliverymen, entrepreneurs, professionally athletes, et cetera -- are telling us things have to change. If we don't listen to them now, we are all just biding our time until the next George Floyd.
[Update: Whoa! I guess I'll get an idea of what defund looks like. I hope this works. It's incredible: Police in Minneapolis have so failed at their duties, the people are like, "We'll take our chances with a City Council member in a black sedan and a group of armed small business owners for now."]
Despite what we were led to believe when Kaepernick knelt in 2016 (on the advice of Army veteran Nate Boyer, it's worth noting), a lot of veterans and military members support BLM.
This is a perfect sign -- clear, succinct, profound. It's something I think about a lot. What we see on video can only be the tip of the iceberg.
This one on the other hand... I don't want to rag on anybody's sign -- she's out here holding it, which is the important thing -- but the whole pumpkin spice thing is played out. For that matter, so is the whole white-people-making-fun-of-white-stereotypes thing. The Simpson were goofing on this 25 years ago.
Fair enough. But please don't.
I like this sign a lot also. The protest had a party feel to it at times, which is cool, human beings can't handle all solemn, all the time, but let's not forget: Real people with real loved ones lost their lives due to completely avoidable and senseless police violence.
Hmm... I'm not able post any more pics for some reason. Maybe I've reach the memory limit for a single entry. I'm posting this and putting up a second part soon.
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