Journal 61 Violent Week

Hello girls.

What a violent week around the world. I hope that you are all well.

It has been crazy. Iran was attacked by Israel, then retaliated. Bolivia had protests. In the US, Los Angeles had violent anti-ICE protests all week. In Minnesota, a state representative and her spouse were assassinated and a state senator and his wife had an attempted assassination. Finally, yesterday were the 50501 protests simultaneous with a new military parade.

This week it was impossible to ignore or moderate the news. I started watching the LA protests at the start of the week and continuously monitored the news until last night. I’ll share some thoughts I had about the domestic events this week.

Once I started watching the LA protests I couldn’t stop. On the first night I tuned in I watched it for eight hours straight. It was so real. It was very interesting to see what was happening straight from a live feed from a drone, without commentary. But on subsequent days, it was hard to find the same kind of live feed from the sky. Drones would show some footage, then fly away. I had to look at independent footage taken on the ground to know what it looked like past curfew. The media was weird about it. My impression was that it was more violent than reported.

Regarding the police, they sure have a proclivity to arrest girls. Several times they selected their choice of a short, slim girl out of a crowd of people. Why not arrest a hostile-looking male instead? Also, I wondered why there were horses. I thought this was cruel. The horses were very startled by the smoke grenades and loud noises.

Why wasn’t the entire downtown shut down to traffic? Why not keep traffic outside downtown? Or restrict it to a few roads? Why wasn’t there a curfew sooner? Also, why did people choose to drive through downtown LA at that time? Even after nightfall when there were dumpster fires, people kept driving through the middle of downtown, getting things thrown at their cars. Why? They probably saw the news. What could they possibly need to be there for, I thought confused. Taking their kid to ballet practice?

Regarding the protestors, I don’t understand why they lit the cars and dumpsters on fire. Neither the car nor the dumpster did anything wrong. Why attack police and police cars? A dumpster fire with people playing drums around it is a MAGA person’s wet dream, haha. Why do that? Why fly foreign flags? Wouldn’t it be better to fly the American flag? The right side up? I was also confused about the Palestinian flag.

Regarding reporters, the incident of the police officer shooting the female Australian reporter with a rubber bullet was disgraceful. On a lighter note, I was surprised that most reporters don’t wear formal clothes anymore. I don't like this, haha.

In general, I preferred to watch hours of the live feed and see what was happening for myself. Such a difference compared to watching edited clips and hearing people’s commentary the next day.

Overall, I think law enforcement acted restrained during the protests. In other countries, it could have been a lot worse. I am very grateful that in America we can have big demonstrations with relatively little violence.

As the week went on, I got tired and watched a little less. Yesterday I was interested in seeing the military parade. I wanted to see live feeds for the 50501 protests, but by that point I was protested-out. I didn’t watch the entire parade either, but I saw was interesting.

I think the Army did a good job. It was their first time doing a military parade like this. I wasn’t sure about the timing with the twilight, but it was nice to conclude with fireworks and it had Fourth of July vibes. If this becomes an annual event, maybe the nearly three weeks until July 4th can become a national relaxation period. A vacation for those who don’t get to go on vacation.

It’s understandable how a military parade makes Americans uneasy. I don’t want to celebrate force, violence, killing, or instruments of death. But there are other ways to look at it.

It can show historical costumes and vehicles. It can bring the spotlight on foreign policy. It can be a warning against future war.

Sometimes people who are not familiar with the military need to see this stuff. It’s reality. It’s sobering. The parade can serve as respect for others’ sacrifices. It can be a time for reflection on the past and thinking about the future.

But to really bring a military parade home, it needs the consultation of a Russian creative director, haha. If you’re going to do it, do it right! “Lift those legs!” “I can't bend that way...” “Higher!!!” It felt much more naturally American when there was lots of smiling and waving.

People complained about the expense. But I feel that it’s okay to include public works, arts, events, celebrations, and spectacles in the budget. This was very expensive, but it was the 250th birthday of the Army. Maybe subsequent ones can be less expensive. For the cost of flying those extra ten tanks, you can make lots of kids super happy with free balloons and ice cream.

Well, in my domestic life this week, things were a little stressful. After being away a few weeks to visit family, one of the seniors has returned to the house. Now it is double trouble.

I found a surprising highlight to the end of the week though! Totally different but maybe it’s just what I needed. Crunchyroll, the anime streaming service that bought Funimation, is having a big sale to get rid of their DVDs. Since everything seems to be disappearing, I’ll be stocking up on some favorite anime, putting it into my console, and watching it without any targeted ads.

Please please please have a safe and peaceful week,

Asya