I tend to be a police skeptic but one must wonder: How would any officer dare be assertive with an individual now, on the chance that person might have a sudden medical episode and die? Would you want to be tarred for the rest of your life? Jesse Ventura as governor made a statement about how police should be "courteous" with the public. The image of police as such grim people with guns perhaps needs tamping down. Maybe these individuals should be re-branded and re-developed as community builders. At least find some more moderate ground.
I expected the sit-in today to be pretty tame because heavens, we're not the big city, right? I wasn't expecting it to be combative at all. It's not in the fabric of Morris MN. So we acknowledge these "macro" upheavals but in a small town kind of way. I expected today's event to mirror the memorial event for Paul Wellstone that was held on the UMM campus. I would expect James Moore to speak. I remember him getting emotional for the Wellstone event. Seems like eons ago we lost Senator Wellstone.
Wellstone would be on the side of those demanding a redress of grievances now.
How much would it help if we had a president who could at least pretend he's a uniter? He could at least listen, the easiest thing in the world to do.
People say the verdict on Trump will be delivered in the November election. This was an argument against impeachment. November seems too far off now. What if it's dangerous for the U.S. to wait that long? And the election may not develop a clear verdict at all. He may again lose the popular vote but win the electoral college. Also, his Republican allies may use their considerable current power to suppress the vote with a bag of tricks they have worked to develop.
Worse than that, the power of the Trump crowd could bring a postponement of the election itself. The reason given for public consumption would be concern about the virus.
Who would have thought the virus would become a secondary story now? It has been pushed aside by "I can't breathe," coincidentally the same plea issued by Eric Garner. Now it's George Floyd being memorialized, all around the world really.
Fascinating how a single incident can inspire such a reaction. If Mr. Floyd is meandering about in heaven now - a better place to be sure - someone might say to him "so you're the dude that caused such a huge movement." And this would be the same as Abe Lincoln saying to Harriet Beecher Stowe "So you're the little woman who wrote the book that made this great war." (She wrote "Uncle Tom's Cabin.")
A single individual or single incident can become such a catalyst for unleashing latent forces or causes. The Minneapolis police made their bed, they can now sleep in it.
Based on all that's going on, I checked the "Indivisible Morris" Facebook page 'cause I felt something might be up - this is how I learned of the sit-in. I learned of it when it was scheduled for Tuesday. It was postponed. Weather was menacing in late morning although it didn't turn out that bad. I saw some very dark clouds rolling this way from the north. There was no onslaught by Mother Nature, though.
"Indivisible Morris" claimed that the sit-in was not their event per se. One could have gotten the impression it was. While I felt the event, had it been held, would be tame i.e. innocuous, maybe my perception wasn't so sharp. From a business friend of mine this morning: "I heard on the radio news this a.m. that the protest scheduled for today in Morris has been cancelled. The report said that some businesses were planning on being closed during that time in case of violence."
Holy cow, really? Maybe the hard-edged sentiments are really reaching out this far. If this is the case, maybe some of the local Trump supporters could cool it at least for a while, with stuff like the flags and signs. Try to soft-pedal a little. I saw a Trump/Pence sign across the road from the soils lab to the east as I was finishing a walk this morning. I presume the sign is on Superior Industries property. Why might I be inclined to think Superior would be inclined to support Trump? Rhetorical question.
But the best outcome for our Morris MN is to be aware without going head-to-head with political division. The big issues of our society aren't going to be solved out here in Morris MN.
Music always applies
Yesterday was so full of the sensation of summer peace, I grabbed a pen and wrote a song about the current goings-on. At present I am not of a mood to have a song recorded. This is a time to be restrained. To be reflective and calm. And most of all, to just embrace all of our fellow man. If you plan on supporting Trump, keep in mind there's lots of talk that George W. Bush might endorse Joe Biden. The name of my song is "What Have We Learned?"
"What Have We Learned?"
by Brian Williams
What have we learned
Since Richmond burned
Since blue and gray went head-to-head
The smoke dissolved
We all resolved
To find our nationhood instead
We see today
Our union frayed
What should we tell our girls and boys?
That what we thought
Our progress brought
Is gone to ashes with George Floyd?
CHORUS:
What have we learned?
What have we learned?
If not the brotherhood of man
Our God implores
Right from his core
To learn a better way, we can
George was a gift
As all life is
There's no pretending to be pure
Those ups and downs
We all have found
Are just a given, that's for sure
He never dreamt
He'd make a dent
In news reporting of the day
Sometimes a spark
Commands the dark
And shows us all a whole new way
(repeat chorus)
What have we learned
To smash and burn
Like we are up against a wall?
If you are black
You are aghast
At how the system casts a pall
And there is Trump
Who likes to strut
When he could share a healing word
And though he was
A hopeless cause
We thought a miracle might work
(repeat chorus)
We see the news
Are not amused
To say the least we are distressed
Who could have thought
We'd see bad cops
In color on our TV sets
What have we learned
Since Detroit burned?
The year was 1968
There was a war
Such blood and gore
We got our asses out of it
(repeat chorus)
TAG-LINE AT END:
It's time for us to make a stand
- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com
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