I have grappled with writing about civil unrest for almost 2 years. I write and review, edit and rewrite. It never quite seems to provide the impossible picture of what transpired. I need to let just this go. I need for this story to be told but also have it 2 years behind me.
The official report contracted by the state Department of Public Safety to objectively evaluate what the state did well and did not do well, was completed in early 2022. It basically paints a picture of state and city leaders caught off guard by the civil unrest and confusion regarding who should take the lead. The report states that the chain of command structure hindered timely and effective response to the unrest, that there was a lack of clarity among participating agencies and that law enforcement agencies used different approaches to handling crowds. No surprise there!
At the end of May 2020, George Floyd was murdered about a mile from our home. There is no questioning the tragic and unnecessary death by those sworn to protect and serve. There is no arguing about the horrors of what happened. I understand that enough is enough. There were peaceful protests, a lot of anger, outraged citizens, opportunists, outside instigators and full on civil unrest. We watched as the city's leadership fumbled in disagreement with the Governor. Minneapolis City Council Members made a call to defund the police with no plan for restructuring or plan for assisting with the problems at hand. So much failure, disappointment and lack of safety.
During the civil unrest, mayhem ensued and the 3rd Precinct neighborhood businesses were looted and burned to the ground. Our once quiet enough inner city neighborhood experienced constant and unprecedented street violence. The city handed over the police station to rioters. Cars and trucks (no license plates) raced around our neighborhood streets. We built barricades in our intersections to slow vehicles down. We saw no police presence. It took way too long and many days, for the National Guard to be called in. During the period of May 27-29, 2020, days were somewhat quiet but with each nightfall came unrest, uncertainty and fear. We wondered how long this could possibly go on. We heard every pop of the marker canisters. We had ash and burned wood chunks in our yard from nearby burned buildings. We heard every shot of the rubber bullets, the crowds of protesters, rioters, looters and marchers. We saw every trolling thug looking for any opportunity to inflict harm or destroy property. We patrolled our alleys looking for containers of flammables. We checked in with our neighbors and compared stories of fear and discontent. We saw untrained and open carry civilian patrols. We knew the police wouldn't come if called so we carried a civilian patrol number in hopes of never needing it.
I know now anything can happen anywhere because it did. For those that haven't experienced anything close to this, this is how it goes. No one comes to rescue you. No one helps you. No one understands what it is like in your once safe enough home and yard. No one calls. Opportunists were everywhere. Crime increased. The news was constant. Crimes of opportunity, street violence, murders, gang violence, carjackings, high speed chases, sirens, stabbings, muggings, home invasions and no police presence. Untrained and unorganized armed civilian patrols. No illusion of safety. No protection. No help.
At the time I thought I lacked resiliency, hope and empathy but I later came to understand survival mode and trauma. I learned about fear and uncertainty. How it effects your state of mind and your relationships with people you thought you could count on. No one escaped 2020 unscathed, that I know. We all have a different story to tell about the pandemic and our spoiled little lives. Some fared better than others. Some got to throw civil unrest into an already difficult time. We may have been all going through the pandemic, but we were most certainly not all in it together.
The summer passed and by September, three months after the civil unrest, there were still no businesses open. No grocery, library, liquor store, drug stores, gas station, credit union, bank, a favorite restaurant, post office and others boarded up, torn down or in repair. We prayed for cold weather to quell the ongoing violence. Things happened to people we know. A friend assaulted in their place of business, another carjacked. There were glimmers of hope but they were like a dangling thread hanging from a hem all poised to unravel.
I know this isn't an Instagram "life is so beautiful" post. I know people adapt because that is what we do. Resilience doesn't happen overnight. People bounce back, reinvent themselves and adapt. We made a plan. We emerged from the mucky river of 2020. We relocated to a place that is peaceful and quiet. We bought a new home in a quieter community. We sold our Minneapolis house in a millennial crazed market. We half halfheartedly welcomed 2021 with air hugs, continued uncertainty, a side of hope and probably a few extra pounds.
