Race Relations during Covid 19

Today I have to ask my children if they feel safe going to their mom's house tonight. She lives in North Minneapolis (where I used to live). It is not the epicenter of the events surounding the murder of George Floyd, but all of the stores along a street just blocks away from her house were vandalized last night. Everything in the residential neighborhood around their house is untouched, but the photos of the businesses nearby show a lot of broken windows and two buildings that look destoyed.

Yesterday the mall and Target stores near us shut down out of fear for their employees.

Yesterday another person died.

Yesterday small business owners who are struggling already from being closed from the pandemic suffered more loss.

Yesterday buildings burned to the ground.

All of this is because of the murder of George Floyd. Yet another unarmed black man killed by the police. Now, I have several good friends who are in law enforcement. I don't doubt they are men and women who would do the right thing. Most of the law enforcent out there likely would. It just takes a few bad ones to make everything look bad. And it's not the police ultimately at fault here. They're on the front page because they have power and auhority. But this is a societal issue. Racism is still rampant. And it's only been getting uglier.

I'm not even sure what to say. As a white man I don't feel I can say much a all. But it has to stop. I fear for my niece's husband and children. I fear for good friends and their children who don't feel they can go for a walk alone. Or drive a car. Or do much of anything without having to constantly check their surroundings in fear.

I don't get what happened. Why a man died that way. Why he died at all...

I don't get why the other three officers just stood by and didn't intervene. Especially officers who are sworn to protect and serve. Officers who are first responders and are to first take care of a person's safety...

Why no one else intervened...

And would I have done something if I was walking by and saw a man been held down, unable to breathe? I'd like to think so, but in the face of an authority figure with weapons, I'm not sure...

We have to do better. We have to love better. We have to. For the sake of my family. My friends. Our children.

A Trip Home during Covid 19

My sons and I drove down to Iowa for 5 days last week to visit my parents. It was partly for our mental health, partly for my mom's mental health (plus it had just been mother's day), and partly because my 101-year old grandmother wasn't doing very well.

The boys still had their school work to do while we were there, so that was most of their days before the weekend. But they took some time on a sunny day to help grandpa pick some aspargus in the ditches. And splitting firewood. There was also some hammock time, time building forts are exploring the farm, a little hiking, and driving around the countryside.

My parents' church has been having church in the parking lot. The pastor and musicians broadcast over a radio on an FM signal from the entrance to the church while the congregants are in their parked cars. I was a different experience. It was rainy so it was hard to see others in their cars. But it was nice to know people were nearby and not be on a computer to worship.

It was good for all of us. It decreased the stress of all of us being in the house. My mom needed some family around--especially in the midst of dealing with dealing with her mom's failing health and planning a funeral (grandma is still alive, but she's 101, so it's also good to have some of that planning done). It was good to be on the farm with fresh air and starry skies.