"I walked and hoped my presence was meaningful."
by Kari Pelaez
May 31, 2020
May 31, 2020
As a Seattlite, I have become more conservative locally while I watch the city become a combination of wealth and disparity and a local government who can't figure out how to create affordable housing without letting people "camp" in the streets.
All of those factors boil down to me being a pragmatist, a humanist, an empath, a friend, and a believer in a Higher Being.
Yesterday, I went downtown to be an ally, a witness, and a person of color in support of Black Lives Matter, in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and all the many, many POC who have died because their skin is darker than mine.
I saw a lot, in a chronological sequence:
I saw everyone in masks and appreciated that.
I saw police remaining calm and cool, not friendly but I wouldn't expect that.
I saw police trying to create boundaries, which worked for a while.
I saw people being polite, no one was shoving, people were saying "excuse me" and there were no confrontations between civilians.
I saw protesters yelling in police officer's faces.
I saw and heard flash bangs, intended to get people to move back or as a warning (we didn't have a visual of what was happening).
I heard and participated in the chants: "No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace." "What's his name? George Floyd." "Hands up! Don't shoot!" "Black lives matter."
I heard the call of the drums by Native Americans.
I walked and hoped my presence was meaningful.
We followed the crowd and chose to follow onto I-5 where we walked through stopped cars with people holding homemade signs of support.
We had to run, holding hands, because someone panicked. We never knew why.
We saw a man on his Harley Davidson, clearly frustrated by stopped traffic, rev and rev and rev his motor and try and drive through protesters onto the freeway. He was surrounded by people. Then we heard his obnoxious motor head down the highway.
We walked north again and were told by some young women that there was tear gas ahead. At the same time, my friend who had stayed at Westlake to hear speeches texted to stay away, that there was a police car on fire. We saw the black smoke.
We decided it was time to figure out how to get home.
We walked northwest, skirting the fire and the obvious chaos.
We got to First and Pike, turned north and found a woman unconscious on the ground. We stayed while 911 was called. We made sure she was in good hands, with a nurse who stopped. We kept walking.
The rain was torrential.
We saw friends heading to the ferry who told us how inspirational the speeches were.
We stood at a bus stop at 3rd and Virginia hoping for a bus to get us north, any bus. We thought one was coming and then suddenly another group of protesters was walking up the street. There were sounds of crashing and destruction. Clearly, our bus wasn't coming.
We walked east and north to get out of the protest path. We saw an altercation between a youth and a Tesla driver. Tensions were rising.
We received alerts that the there was a curfew going into effect, that there were more vehicles on fire.
We walked past Fire Station 2 while Ladder 4 was pulling in. Those guys looked tired.
We made the decision to walk to the EMP at the Seattle Center and call for a ride.
While we waited, we spoke with a man named Carlos who has worked in the fields in Skagit County picking berries. He was taking a break under the bus stop because he had all his belongings with him. We listened while he reminisced about his Papa, his hermano, and his life.
Our ride came. We got in the car, all three of us soaking wet. It was a quiet drive with tidbits shared a little at a time.
We came home to a warm home where we have everything we need. We ordered Thai food for dinner and watched the news.
We know we are privileged. We are thankful.
I wish the protests hadn't turned to looting and destruction, and I know that some of that was because of people who show up to do just that.
But, how else will the voices be heard? Other methods are not working.
Dr King said: "Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man."
It will take more than a few days of protests and riots to fix the institutional bigotry, racism, socio-economic inequities and injustices, and pervasive, active persecution of minorities.
I pray we will move forward as a society. I pray we can fix these problems. I pray for you and for me and for all of humanity. We've got a lot of work to do.
All of those factors boil down to me being a pragmatist, a humanist, an empath, a friend, and a believer in a Higher Being.
Yesterday, I went downtown to be an ally, a witness, and a person of color in support of Black Lives Matter, in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and all the many, many POC who have died because their skin is darker than mine.
I saw a lot, in a chronological sequence:
I saw everyone in masks and appreciated that.
I saw police remaining calm and cool, not friendly but I wouldn't expect that.
I saw police trying to create boundaries, which worked for a while.
I saw people being polite, no one was shoving, people were saying "excuse me" and there were no confrontations between civilians.
I saw protesters yelling in police officer's faces.
I saw and heard flash bangs, intended to get people to move back or as a warning (we didn't have a visual of what was happening).
I heard and participated in the chants: "No justice, no peace. Know justice, know peace." "What's his name? George Floyd." "Hands up! Don't shoot!" "Black lives matter."
I heard the call of the drums by Native Americans.
I walked and hoped my presence was meaningful.
We followed the crowd and chose to follow onto I-5 where we walked through stopped cars with people holding homemade signs of support.
We had to run, holding hands, because someone panicked. We never knew why.
We saw a man on his Harley Davidson, clearly frustrated by stopped traffic, rev and rev and rev his motor and try and drive through protesters onto the freeway. He was surrounded by people. Then we heard his obnoxious motor head down the highway.
We walked north again and were told by some young women that there was tear gas ahead. At the same time, my friend who had stayed at Westlake to hear speeches texted to stay away, that there was a police car on fire. We saw the black smoke.
We decided it was time to figure out how to get home.
We walked northwest, skirting the fire and the obvious chaos.
We got to First and Pike, turned north and found a woman unconscious on the ground. We stayed while 911 was called. We made sure she was in good hands, with a nurse who stopped. We kept walking.
The rain was torrential.
We saw friends heading to the ferry who told us how inspirational the speeches were.
We stood at a bus stop at 3rd and Virginia hoping for a bus to get us north, any bus. We thought one was coming and then suddenly another group of protesters was walking up the street. There were sounds of crashing and destruction. Clearly, our bus wasn't coming.
We walked east and north to get out of the protest path. We saw an altercation between a youth and a Tesla driver. Tensions were rising.
We received alerts that the there was a curfew going into effect, that there were more vehicles on fire.
We walked past Fire Station 2 while Ladder 4 was pulling in. Those guys looked tired.
We made the decision to walk to the EMP at the Seattle Center and call for a ride.
While we waited, we spoke with a man named Carlos who has worked in the fields in Skagit County picking berries. He was taking a break under the bus stop because he had all his belongings with him. We listened while he reminisced about his Papa, his hermano, and his life.
Our ride came. We got in the car, all three of us soaking wet. It was a quiet drive with tidbits shared a little at a time.
We came home to a warm home where we have everything we need. We ordered Thai food for dinner and watched the news.
We know we are privileged. We are thankful.
I wish the protests hadn't turned to looting and destruction, and I know that some of that was because of people who show up to do just that.
But, how else will the voices be heard? Other methods are not working.
Dr King said: "Let us say boldly that if the violations of law by the white man in the slums over the years were calculated and compared with the law-breaking of a few days of riots, the hardened criminal would be the white man."
It will take more than a few days of protests and riots to fix the institutional bigotry, racism, socio-economic inequities and injustices, and pervasive, active persecution of minorities.
I pray we will move forward as a society. I pray we can fix these problems. I pray for you and for me and for all of humanity. We've got a lot of work to do.
