Blackout Tuesday

Hello, and welcome back! A couple of you may have noticed that the blog was offline Tuesday (I actually got more notes than I expected, so thanks for that!). I wanted to let you know that it wasn't a mistake or an error, it was just my small way of standing up in support of the Blackout Tuesday protest against the killing of George Floyd. I'm not a very political person, and this is certainly not a political blog, but there are times when you just feel like taking a stand. And after talking to my girlfriend in NYC yesterday as she walked home from work across broken glass and past boarded up buildings, I felt like I needed to do something. I don't condone the killing of a human being, and at the same time I don't condone the violence and looting.  I don't think all cops are bad people, and I don't think the protestors are wrong. I think something needs to be done in this country to make all people feel welcome and included, and I think it's going to take a lot of work to get there.  Pretending there is not a problem is not the answer. If the protests bring attention to the problem in an orderly fashion, great. I don't think rioting, violence, looting and burning are the answer, whether perpetrated by angry protestors or opportunistic troublemakers (and I think both are out there). I don't have the answer.  I wish I did. I wish we could all listen to Christmas music and get along all the time.  But there's always going to be friction here and there, all we can do is work to lessen it when we can.  There's probably more I wanted to say, but words escape me, and you don't want to read what I think about this mess anyway.  All I can tell you is to follow your feelings, and vote your conscience. And that's all I have to say about that.