I know this isn't true for everybody out there on this website, but my twitter account is a very personal one.

To that end, a little personal update.

I live in Saint Paul, which adjoins Minneapolis. We moved across town a year and a half ago, and now live about five blocks from the informal Philando Castile memorial.

Spouse and I went to 38th and Chicago on Tuesday to express with our physical presence (and her sign) our own pain at the killing of George Floyd there this week. It's a 20 minute drive from our home. An hour's bike ride.

And we went to lend what little support we could with our physical and emotional presence to the community in mourning and anguish.

The crowd was organizing to move toward the police precinct office, which is maybe 1.5 - 2 miles from 38th and Chicago.

We walked with the crowd down 38th. We were in a crowd, outside, and that felt a little weird in these times. But people were definitely mindful.

And everyone was wearing masks. It was a large and determined group of people.

It was not a group of people that needed to be broken up with tear gas and rubber bullets. It was not a group of people that needed to be met with riot gear.

We didn't make it all the way there. We had our own children to feed dinner. The weather was turning. Spouse was in flip flops.

So we didn't witness anything that may have immediately preceded that night's police response.

But I have to believe that response made last night's events in Minneapolis more likely, and evidently today's events there as well as nearer my home more likely.

We are safe, and have no reason to believe we won't be. But there are protests and heavy police presence at my favorite large grocery store a couple miles from my home, the Midway Cub and other surrounding businesses.

I haven't been to that Cub since about the second week in our Stay at Home order, which is when I realized that when supplies (e.g. toilet paper and eggs and milk) are scarce, it would be better to not shop there.

My getting eggs there might literally mean a family with limited access to transportation couldn't. So I've been frequenting one about the same distance from my home, but with a clientele with higher average affluence.

(side note: The Roseville Cub is empirically a worse place than the Midway one, and these things are related to each other. Diversity is strength)

Anyway, we told the kids (15 and 13yo) where we were going and why when we left for protest the other night. We called to let them know we'd be home later than expected.

So they are aware of things. The 13 yo much less than the 15 yo (the older one is a youtube fanatic and very interested in politics).

This evening, I opened a conversation with each of them about what they know, and what they want to know.

THe 15yo had watched the video, which I expected but am not super excited about. We talked about that, and about my own decision to not ever watch videos of people being killed.

It is important that those videos exist. It is important that there are people whose job it is to watch and report on them. But I don't think it will have healthy consequences for my brain to see it.

Familiarity has a way of normalizing.

I assured them in all honesty that I have no fears for our or their personal safety, but also wanted them to not feel like these are things we cannot discuss, or like they are topics to avoid.

I talked to them about responses that people might have to current events. "This isn't the way to make change" as an example, and we talked about what exactly the way to make change is supposed to be.

Did things change when Philando's killer walked free?

Anyway, like I said. We are safe. These are strange times. But they are also times that demand honesty and sincerity and care and patience. All are good attributes all the time, but they are especially important to fall back on as norms when things are in flux.

And I will say that arrest warrants need to be issued immediately for George Floyd's killer and accomplice(s).

The only reason that could be seen as a controversial claim is that these are police officers.

And that's not a status I'm willing to grant any member of our society. Not the police. Not teachers. Not a president who claims he could shoot someone in broad daylight.

I have a friend and former neighbor who is a police officer in Saint Paul. I understand the humanity involved in the work.

But what we saw on Monday was not humanity and people have a right to be angry. And our government(s) need to do the right thing by the people.

I'm done now. Happy to have conversations here or by email with anyone who has questions or things they'd like to talk out or learn more about. Hit me up: [email protected]

But for tonight, I'm out. Need some family time.

Be well and be safe, friends.

And RIP George Floyd.