Protests

Our country is in turmoil as of late (seemingly moreso than usual).   A black man in Minneapolis was killed by a white policeman (a man who should not been in law enforcement - and who will be tried in court for his heinous action).  It was wrong and it was criminal.   One bad cop, however, does not represent an entire nation of good police officers.

This sparked a nationwide band of protesters (from Black Lives Matter, ANTIFA, and other anti-law enforcement and social justice groups) in big cities and even small towns.  With those protesters, many looters and anarchists appeared, burning down buildings (retail stores, police precincts, etc), stealing from and violently trashing stores, desecrating or even tearing down city, state, and national monuments and statues, and injuring/killing innocent people and police officers.  Millions of dollars worth of damage has been done thus far to many cities throughout the United States - and countless lives have been taken or greatly affected. 

And, with all of the chaos, police men and women still clock in to do their best to uphold the law, working to protect citizens and their rights - all the while being shunned by most of the media, ANTIFA, left-wingists, and the Black Lives Matter group.  Morale in many precincts has gone down significantly in the last two weeks.   These protesting groups are [literally] taking over parts of cities and demanding that the police departments be defunded and/or disbanded altogether.  And, many liberal cities are going along with  these demands.

I will not go off on any sort of diatribe here on my thoughts and view (the soap box is large), but I wanted to mark this on our blog/in our book to show that our small town was affected also.  People in our small town have been protesting too, which is part of our First Amendment.  So far, it's been rather peaceful, with only some foul words flinging.

With all of the chaos and protests that had become violent in other cities, the local rumor mills and social media were flooded with stories and ideas of potential issues with a planned protest to be held on June 6th.

However, the local police department met with the protesting group to discuss the planned protest, its location, and how to keep everyone safe.

I'm not going to lie, after seeing all of the horrific things that have been on the news lately, I was scared.  I was scared for Eric and I was scared for our city.  I was scared that things would turn ugly and people would get hurt. 

Eric went to work last Saturday, as that was when the larger planned protest had been scheduled.  He updated social media frequently to keep the Facebook page updated for citizens.  I am happy to say that the protest did remain peaceful.  Eric was gone longer than I thought he would be.  I was beyond relieved when he walked through the front door.

So here is a simple picture....

It's just an image of some food that came to the police department from a few local citizens on Friday afternoon.  But, I tell you what... the food in that picture meant a LOT to the APD (and to me!).  Those boxes and bottles are a representation of the respect and gratitude that some people still have for our local police officers.  The food was sent to the PD for the many officers who were on duty that Saturday during the protest (no one fully knowing how long it would last).   The owner of the local McDonald's restaurant provided breakfast, lunch, and supper for officers on duty that day too.   Those types of outward kindness have an emotional impact on our men and women in blue... and to their families.

So... really just a few key things for this post; #1: to note a historical event that caused a chaotic spiral of events in our nation but moreover #2: to show support for my husband and law enforcement officials, and #3) to demonstrate that this small town still has love and respect for its police officers when so much of the country's support is not shining through. 
God bless America.