You already know what I’m writing about today: Minneapolis and the second video-taped murder by federal agents. I’ve had to wrestle with how to discuss this. It would be easy to vanish into rage or fear or hopelessness. But I’ve decided not to do that.
I know we’ve all been disappointed in the past when something seemed to be a turning point and then turned out not to be. But this is a new opportunity for the nation to recognize what is happening and change course. There have been a number of hopeful signs in the last few days: the impressive non-violence of the Minneapolis resistance, a shift in mainstream media coverage, new resolve on the part of Senate Democrats coupled with wavering on the part of elected Republicans, the continuing decline in Trump’s poll numbers, and so on. The fact that these are all happening at the same time is encouraging.
I am reminded of a line from a Paul Simon song: “I would not give you false hope on this strange and mournful day.” It would be a mistake to jump to the conclusion that it’s all going to be OK now. And yet, something is happening. It may all eventually come to nothing, but right now it’s still something.
This week’s featured post “Turning Point or Tipping Point?” tries to balance the precariousness of this moment with its hopefulness. It’s a tricky piece to write, so I’m uncertain when it will come out — probably sometime between 10 and 11 EST.
The weekly summary will not have a lot else in it, because Minneapolis has been eating my attention. It should appear sometime around noon.
The Weekly Sift 
Comments
I don’t know where else to leave this comment, so this is my first opportunity: During Joseph McCarthy’s Red Scare, it appears that nobody was killed by the government (as far as we know). However, some victims of his targeting were driven to suicide, including Senator Lester Hunt. It feels like this absolutely should be a “Have you no shame?” moment, after actual deaths at the hands of our government agents.