I promised you some thoughts about last night: I missed Thursday’s protest but I was there Wednesday and Friday. It was interesting to see the difference. On Wednesday, people were so angry, understandably. Friday felt more restorative for them at least from my perspective.

Yes, the anger hurt and pain was still there. But because the MPD stayed back and no counter protesters showed up to agitate anyone, those in attendance seemed to have a chance to just sit and listen to each other talk it out for a while.

No one was in a rush last night. The sat outside the FedExForum last night for almost 90 minutes just listening to each other talk. Several shared experiences with police. One woman sang to the crowd. One man just wanted to hear a large group of people say Black Lives Matter.

People choked back tears. People yelled as they were overcome by emotion. Ages ranged decades. Many races, genders, sexual orientations, religions were represented. Dozens of people had the chance to address the crowd.

It was peaceful not just because no buildings were burned. It was peaceful because I think at least some of the protesters found peace sitting and talking among the others. Last night seemed to be cathartic. At least in some small way. At least from where I was sitting.

If you were there, I’d love to know if you came to a similar conclusion.