IDK who needs to hear this but as a resident of the S. Minneapolis neighborhood that was the center of protests here:

- it's a chill, safe, happy place

- support for BLM is strong

- at the peak of things, the only time I was *afraid* was when the armed white dudes showed up

MPD killed George Floyd on a Monday. Protests Tues-Thurs centered on local police station. There was looting + property destruction in that area (including the station, obvs).

But the broader area, including *residential areas,* didn't feel unsafe until Friday night. Because...

There were so many fires across the city, incl Black-owned businesses torched on the North Side. There were all kinds of videos of random white dudes breaking things and setting fires. Friends (ppl I know IRL!) saw trucks w/ B**galoo stickers racing around. THAT was the chaos.

We organized neighborhood watches because everyone was scared of the militia cosplayers and assorted white dudes up to no good (and not protesting anything!!). Like these guys stopped by AIM.

THAT was the chaos. https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/in-minneapolis-it-s-aim-that-serves-and-protects-c5xWJ8p9ykGvw9eKB0iJCQ

My neighbors soaked their roofs with water. My wife and I and our kids slept together in the back room, with shoes and go bags at our feet. I cannot emphasize how fucking scared we were.

And our fear wasn't the protests. Ever. It was the armed white dudes with bad intentions.

And I KNOW that our fear, those days, was nothing compared to what so many of our BIPOC neighbors have faced forever. I know that my experience wasn't special.

One of my neighbors, a young Black man, said that while he'd been happy to run outside and help when there was trouble during our block patrols, we shouldn't count on him to always do the same, bc once police were out in full force again, they might not know/assume he was HELPING

Anyway, it really shouldn't take a boring white guy in the Midwest to say this, but just in case it does:

To the degree that American cities are in "chaos," it's because of

* COVID
* Police brutality
* White supremacy
* POTUS exacerbating all of the above

If you want more about all this, here's a thread from June.

And if anyone's still afraid of American cities right now, come on down to Longfellow. There's a DQ, a diner, & the scariest thing you're likely to see is a 4-year-old going too fast on a scooter https://mobile.twitter.com/douglasmack/status/1273744745383235585

Also. After all that happened in Minneapolis, THIS happened. Thousands of people stepping up to help. I still cry when I think about all those cars. https://mobile.twitter.com/douglasmack/status/1267134493036609537

(I linked this story above, about AIM stopping some teenage looters, but I just want to call out this paragraph for anyone who didn't click through and read it)

(And look! They addressed the situation in a nonviolent way! That's how it should be!)

https://indiancountrytoday.com/news/in-minneapolis-it-s-aim-that-serves-and-protects-c5xWJ8p9ykGvw9eKB0iJCQ