It has been 8 days since George Floyd, arrested for allegedly passing a counterfeit bill, was suffocated to death by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who has since lost his badge and charged with 3rd degree murder.
Protests not only in Minneapolis but across the country have turned violent. Two New York City police cruisers allegedly rammed into protesters over the weekend, putting more lives at risk. The violence has spread into Albany.
But while things calmed down in Albany Monday, if you went across the river to Troy, you saw several downtown businesses boarded up in anticipation of the prospect of a similar violent incident. Mayor Patrick Madden has said he supports peaceful protests, and a formal protest event is scheduled for Sunday at Riverfront Park. Rumors have a second event set for tomorrow. That's why the boards are up in the storefronts of places like Manory's, H & R Block, Famous Lunch, Bespoki Bowl, and MetroPCS.
It is not helping matters, however, that President Trump, who left Washington long enough to watch the launch of Elon Musk's SpaceX mission on Saturday in Florida, then return to the White House, is making irresponsible demands of governors and law enforcement officials, ignorant of the fact that some protesters have already been arrested in cities like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and, of course, Minneapolis. Trump, to this point, has stopped short of imposing martial law, but his idea of dealing with the protests has put him again in the crosshairs of his favorite network, Fox News, as Tucker Carlson condemned Trump and son-in-law Jared Kushner Monday night.
The story's been told of how Nero fiddled while ancient Rome burned. Trump was secluded in a bunker under the White House Friday night, flew to Florida on Saturday, and was back in Washington before the end of the weekend. The strange part was the the exterior lights of the White House were turned off the entire weekend.
As celebrities and sports figures are urging peaceful protests, Knicks owner James Dolan, in a press release Monday, issued a directive stating that the team wasn't taking a position on the protests. He might just be the only sports owner in New York taking that stand, like the Weasel he's always been, and, yes, he picked up another Weasel of The Week award for his lack of concern for the people of New York, and general lack of empathy.
Late Night host Seth Meyers, working from home like a lot of us due to COVID-19, addressed the protests and various surrounding feedback, in his A Closer Look segment earlier this morning:
After his years anchoring Weekend Update on Saturday Night Live, which led to the Late Night gig, Meyers could end up being a real anchorman in a pinch, jokes aside.
The only mistake made in sequestering Trump in an underground bunker was not taking away his phone. Twitter wouldn't mind.
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