Chicago Fire

I'm not talking about the TV show. Last night, downtown Chicago was on fire. Police cars were set ablaze along with some businesses in the Loop. It was a hot mess. I didn't even realize there was looting going on until I turned the news on at 10:00 (because I was watching something on cable). I knew protests were happening downtown, but I didn't know the situation had deteriorated into total chaos as night fell. I'd never seen the drawbridges pulled up to prevent people from crossing the river, yet they were all raised last night. I was disgusted to see looters in Macy's on State Street. I was disgusted to see the graffiti covering the Picasso statute. I was disgusted to see the Walgreens on the ground level of the Thompson Center looted. But was I shocked by these tragic events? No. Sadly, I was surprised something like this hadn't happened sooner. When you combine the Covid situation, record unemployment, and so many people out of money and out of hope with police brutality and racial problems that have plagued this country forever, you get what we got last night: Chicago on fire. And it wasn't just Chicago. It was Minneapolis, New York, and a host of other cities. It's a damn shame. I hate to see people looting and defacing property, but I also hate to see racist cops killing black and brown people and racist white women calling the cops on black guys who ask them to put their dog on a leash. People (myself included) are sick and tired of being sick and tired. But we can't let our city and our people descend into madness. We can't let chaos reign. We have to hold it down. We have to keep on keeping on.