I am heartbroken to see Boston, the city I called home for 18 and a half years, is burning at this hour. Governor Baker has called in the National Guard to restore order.
Of course, Boston is far from the only place is burning but the streets I see burning are on the streets I walked for many years.
The protesters are pointing the finger at "white guys" (whether this means Antifa or white supremacists isn't exactly clear) and the cops. There might be some kernels of truth in there. But I'm not taking these claims at face value. Given we are still in the throes a deadly pandemic which has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Americans this crowd shouldn't have gathered at all no matter the injustice of George Floyd's murder.
But gathered they have and, as a result, we are in the midst of the worst civil unrest in the United States since the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. more than half a century ago. What is notable about the King riots is that Boston emerged unscathed thanks in large part to a James Brown concert at the Boston Garden which was broadcast live on WGBH. Needless to say, Boston is not so fortunate now.
Of course, a concert at the Boston Garden would not be possible under the present circumstances. But even it was possible there is a critical mass of people who are not amenable to reason and are now savoring the opportunity to burn everything down.
The only thing in which I can take any comfort is that no one in Boston has died of this violence - at least for now.
However judging by the lack of social distancing methinks Mass General Hospital, Boston Medical Center, Tufts Medical Center plus Brigham & Women's Hospital are going to be very busy in a couple of weeks. In which case, we can look forward to more death and despair.
I'd ask God to help us, but I know we are on our own.
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