If you’re looking for an unbiased account of the protests yesterday in LA (or anywhere across the nation), local news isn’t going to be able to give you that...It’s not due to racism or hatred on the part of folks working in local news, it’s due to the structure...

Local news works hand-in-hand with police to get access to and report on things that they think will rate well. Also, looting and rioting is much easier to document and report on than the reality, which is that police brought the threat of violence...to the peaceful protesters...

With everything going on right now, it’s impossible to address the inherent bias that comes with the favorable relationship between cops and local news, so here are some ways to avoid getting tripped on on that bullshit and distracted from the cause...

First, if you want to know what really happened with a protest descending into looting and rioting, ask people that were there. I reached out to multple who were at the protest that started in Pan Pacific Park and moved into the Fairfax district yesterday...

...and they all said people were marching peacefully until the cops showed up, got in their way and started responding to chants and voiced anger with rubber bullets and clubs. That explains the change from peaceful protests to violent petty crimes that the news couldn’t grasp...

Second, take the news reports with a grain of salt. There’s a kernel of truth to the reporting, but it’s incumbent upon all of us to not believe every word. Use the knowledge of your own experiences to frame the news coverage into something that makes sense in your world...

Third, respond with love. Any mistreatment of other humans is wrong. We need journalists out there, no matter their angle or inherent biases. Same with cops. You could argue we need less or more or better from them, but we still need folks to step up and do that difficult job...

To everyone protesting peacefully, keep up the great work. To anyone using this moment to vandalize random businesses, please don’t do that. To anyone looting, I know times have been hard lately, so maybe try to steal from big chains instead of local small business owners...

Take care of each other and give folks the space they need to mourn, heal and speak their mind. Keep @DaTrillStak5 and the family of George Floyd in your thoughts and prayers. Love to all who have love for all