It couldn`t happen here-then it did

The brutal murder of George Floyd has ignited an international explosion of shock, rage and grief. The forces behind it and other extrajudicial deaths have been roundly confronted and condemned. I have been struggling to get over my own shock and anger, and to try and make sense of my feelings.

I moved to Minnesota  from Chicago with my family when I was a child. My mother`s side of the family was and is still based there. I grew up with uncles and cousins. After a few years of living in the suburbs,  we moved to South Minneapolis when I started high school. This was the `nice` part of town. We lived on the same lake and a few blocks down from where the iconic Mary Tyler Moore show was filmed. We were aware of problems on the more economically challenged North side. But our neighborhood was mostly pleasant and peaceful. 

After high school, my family moved to New York. but I still spent summers at grandma`s house, working various jobs. One of my first was at a shoe store on Lake Street.

My mother had taken a position at a state university in New York, from where I would later graduate. I would often proudly point out to friends the history of progressive culture and politics that was a feature of Minnesota.

In some ways, the state has been a victim of its own success. It usually rates among the best places to live of all the states. That has brought people from other parts of the country who don`t necessarily share the same values.

For whatever reasons, since I moved from the U.S. to Taiwan, then back to the U.S. and now to Japan, Minnesota has been slowly but surely been gaining notoriety rather than fame. To be honest, my first `wtf` moment may have been when former wrestler Jesse `The Body` Ventura became governor. I felt like, no way does Minnesota sound like this guy. I was ready to dismiss it as a one-time worry. Then some years after that, Philandro Castle was gunned down by a policeman outside of St. Paul. Once again I thought, this must be an isolated case. Then one of my cousins started posting about experiences he had with the police, which were at best humiliating and possibly not even legal. Now it`s happened again, not far from my old neighborhood.

I spoke to my mother on the phone. We both agreed that this kind of viciousness would have been unthinkable when we were living there. Moreover, the head of the police union called George Floyd `a violent criminal`. That is not supported by my cousins, several of whom had met and spoken with him. They said he was a sweet guy, always smiling. His family has said the same. But even if he was thoroughly unpleasant, it doesn`t come close to excusing the injustice he suffered. It doesn`t come close to excusing dying on a sidewalk, for no reason. I feel personally attacked for this kind of savagery to be loose on the streets of a city I still hold in the highest regard.

As for the movement to defund the police entirely-I`m aware that street gangs and serial killers would be among the supporters. but I totally understand the sentiment. It`s clear that the current system is going to keep producing the next George Floyd. There`s only so much of being appalled and outraged that anyone can take. In fact, given my ethnic background, it could easily be me. It`s sad to say that, as much as I miss family and friends, I`m safer on the other side of the planet.

Whatever the solution is, I hope it will bring a day when I can once again point to the city closest to my heart with pride.