© UnknownMao's shock troops, Philadelphia 2011
A guy with who once pointed a gun at the belly of a woman during an armed robbery was actually "a gentle giant," according to ABC News. It quotes one of his buddies, "Anybody who knows him will tell you he's not confrontational." At George Floyd's funeral, the mayor of Minneapolis, Richard Frey, knelt by the coffin and sobbed for a full minute, his body shaking.
For over two weeks,
riots have erupted across America, and it doesn't look like they will stop soon. Protesters and cops have been killed. A black man has just been shot by police in Atlanta, triggering another riot.
Reading about all this turmoil, I think back to my one visit to the Twin Cities, in 2014. Arriving in Saint Paul on a train from Williston, North Dakota, I checked into a motel, and was on the streets by dawn. It was July 4th!
Wandering around haphazardly, I ended up at Langford Park, where there was a large picnic. Old people relaxed on lawn chairs,
kids ran around and the Pig's Eye
JassBand was swinging to Gershwin's "Strike Up the Band." Having been to many cities in at least 35 states,
I had never encountered such a wholesome and tranquilly joyous gathering. It was as if I had stumbled into a vast Norman Rockwell painting, or time traveled to an America of half a century ago.
Comment: See also: 'Truth, Lies and Sex Offenders': Anna Salter's documentary on sexual predators
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