Tonight, for the first time in 184 years, my neighborhood is under military lockdown. from my front porch I can see multiple National Guard vehicles and 6 police cruisers to deter would be looters.

In the distance I can hear non-leathal crowd control weapons being used to enforce police orders. The press has been denied access to cover the story and groups of any size are being disbursed because they lack a permit to assemble.

Buildings around me are boarded up and helicopters have been circling overhead all day. Part of our neighborhood (including the main commercial area and our home), along with downtown Cleveland, is under around the clock curfew between now and Tuesday evening.

Per the Mayor’s order, we may not be out to walk, run, ride a bike, go to the store, shop, play at the park, move our cars, nothing. The photo below is our beloved West Side Market behind police and military control.

Despite the vast majority of protestors yesterday doing so peacefully, the actions of those who wanted to hijack the crowd for their own violent ends led us to more restrictions. That riotous situation was obviously unsustainable.

That said, I struggle to see how locking down over 25,000 residents of the city under the threat of military action against them is a proportional response from City Hall.

What’s the right answer right now? I have no idea. As I saw on Twitter this evening, our world is a tinderbox and our President is a pyromaniac. In a period where we need leadership more than ever, we have less than ever. And that’s making things so much worse.

It took me a few hundred words to say it, but here’s the point. I’m at a loss for words but at no loss for conflicting emotions. This is a terrifying time from every side.