Pandemic - while our local count of the virus has dropped and is holding steady, things have only slightly opened back up. Groups continue to sue the governor for the right to open and attempt to abide by guidelines (churches sued two weeks ago and won the right to meet and social distance; bars, gyms, and bowling alleys were supposed to partially open this past week along with hair salons and restaurants but instead were told they could not. Those groups are now either suing or investigating their options as appeals for help and guidance go unheard.) Many restaurants are continuing to only have curbside and drive-thru as the measures required to open the dining halls are financially unfeasible to do. Several quilt shops have opened but one of their many precautions is that restrooms are closed to customers. So that basically means I won't go. I'm not willing to drive 40 minutes one way to then spend half an hour shopping and then drive another 40 minutes home without having access to a bathroom. My bladder would not survive. And while America is still very much the land of plenty, I'm still amazed at the rolling shortages of items in the grocery store. Peanut butter, frozen vegetables and some pastas continue to be very limited in supply. Cleaning supplies with bleach or peroxide, toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and many canned goods continue to be non-existent or so limited that there are quotas. I did find toilet paper at the Dollar Tree this week. They are very small rolls, but it's good quality and I'm thankful to find it period.
Racial injustice and murders - A black man named Gregory Floyd was murdered at the hands of police in Minnesota. His crime? Attempting to use a counterfeit bill. I've seen two video clips (and simply cannot watch any more) and in one (which has two parts) the media showed he was not resisting arrest in any form or fashion. But even the fact that they would attempt to arrest someone for using a counterfeit bill shocks me. I've been given a fake bill by a bank teller before. When I tried to use it a store, the lady asked me if I knew it was fake, and when I told her no and I just got it from the bank, she returned it to me and told me to take it back to them but I couldn't use it there. (The bank did replace it.) So I do not understand why the store owner or the officers felt it necessary to make an arrest in the first place. Even worse, I do not understand the officer placing his knee in an area that would cause a panic or anxiety attack at best when the person is begging for air and help. The most heart wrenching is long after they suspected he was dead, they continued to "subdue" him in such a manner and never once attempted CPR or offered in relief whatsoever. First degree murder in most places is a pre-meditated or planned murder, so I do understand not having a first degree charge, but I am a bit puzzled by the third degree/manslaughter charge. That is usually reserved for things like death by vehicle that is not intended to kill but does. Growing up in a small town, you know very well about the inconsistencies of police officers or the ones that are bad. You know that bad cops exist. I have several classmates who serves as police officers now. One of them lost his job for telling an officer under him not to comply with the chief's request to turn over the unused evidence (drugs) to him. My classmate lost his job over it, though the chief was later charged and found guilt and the new chief unsuccessfully tried to get him to return. I know there are many evil cops out there who use their uniform to abuse power. But it makes me sick to my stomach to think that black American males fear the cops the same way my students in China did. I don't know what the solution is. (Yes, I am an American and do think problems can and should be solved...used to drive my Chinese students crazy.) I've thought about a few things, but those are things that must come from our leaders and not from me. (Perhaps that's a post for another day.)
Protests and riots - As a result of the recent murder, there have been protests against police brutality, as there has been after other deaths at the hands of police officers (except for the two situations where white people were wrongly murdered at the hands of police here in NC in the last 5 years. No one but the media seemed outraged over those deaths, and even the media only talked about it for a day or two.) In Minneapolis, where George Floyd was murdered, one group of protestors attacked and burned a police station. I can kind of understand that one, even if I disagree with it. But when they began to attack and loot Target, the Dollar Tree, Starbucks, and bus stations, in my personal opinion, they stopped being protestors and were simply angry, anti-civilation idiots. The family of George Floyd is begging for this to stop. As the burning and looting has spread, there appears to continue to be three groups: the protestors wanting true change and justice; the anarchists who only want to destroy, kill and serve themselves by looting, and the helpers who are uniting to clean up the mess every morning after. They also attacked CNN media in Atlanta, along with a sports museum. I can understand why they are angry with police and are attacking them and their vehicles, but I do not understand the rationale, or lack of it, for the destruction of all the other public and personal property.
China - India and China are once again in dispute over borders. China is finally cracking down on Hong Kong's freedoms, attempting to bring them more inline with the rest of their domain, and the rest of the world is rebuking them for it. Britain has actually stated that anyone with a six month work visa from Hong Kong can receive a British passport and China is having a fit over that. And of course our president is continuously creating ill will with them over the virus ( no pun intended there), but very few people are still speaking out about the human rights violations of the Uighers.
We have had rough times before, but today it seems as if things are very dark on the world's horizon. We truly live in a world broken by sin, and are in desperate need of redemption.
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