Last night was another night of me being unable to stop watching CNN and checking Twitter for updates. The following image is typical of the coverage (a split screen with looting in Los Angeles on the left and an historic hotel building burning down in Washington, DC on the right):
As I watched the chaos unfold in Minneapolis, St. Paul, NYC, LA, Philadelphia, Miami, Las Vegas, Washington DC, etc. I realized they weren't covering Dallas. I went to Twitter and typed in "Downtown Dallas" and looked at the latest tweets. I immediately regretted it because I saw a video of a man being beaten to death (though I later read that he was picked up by an ambulance and was potentially going to survive).
Some people on Twitter were bragging about the crimes they were committing. Other people were warning about the chaos and reporting that shooters were running around in Dallas. Back on CNN, reports arrived that cops in Indianapolis had started using live ammunition and had shot 3 protesters; 1 of whom had died.
Our society has crossed the tipping point of chaos. I'm concerned on so many levels. My brain is also thinking about the "Breaking Bad" concept that once someone "breaks bad" it's almost impossible for that person to stop being a criminal. Thousands of people have engaged in lawless chaos in our major cities. Are they going to be able to easily revert back to being responsible citizens? I hope so, but now I have my doubts. The National Guard has been activated in many of these major cities, but means we may be looking at martial law for the immediate future.
Another concern I felt was that even though I was seeing all of this, I know in my heart that there are some people who don't watch the news and don't follow current events; there are some people who have no idea this is going on. My thoughts were backed up by getting a phone call today from an old friend who is like a brother to me. He had no idea this was going on.
It's so dangerous to me to think that someone wouldn't realize they should be avoiding major cities. It's so easy to just get on the highway and drive to Dallas, but they could get caught up in the traffic and protests. Not that my friend was going to leave his place; he's staying home because of the pandemic.
I've got the TV on and CNN is currently reporting that the protests in major cities are mostly peaceful right now. But it isn't dark yet. Once the sun goes down, that's when people start more fires and looting. They just reported that, outside the White House, people have brought rocks to throw at the police; there are thousands of peaceful protestors, but all it takes is a few violent people to turn it into an angry mob.
I need to eat. I was hoping my PLOG would mostly be about me bettering myself and my cooking skills and such during the pandemic. I had no idea this type of chaos would takeover our society, even though I suppose I should have known because the "preppers" and "conspiracy theorists" on YouTube and Reddit predicted this exact situation. They predicted the virus, the food shortages/rise in prices for groceries, the race riots, and I even remember one of them saying that by the time people realized they needed to get out of the urban areas it would be too late.
Is it too late? Should I have prepared a "bug out" bag? Should I be calling my father and seeing about going to live out in the country with him? I don't want to leave my home, but there's a part of me that realized I'm just a few minutes down the highway from downtown Dallas and there are a lot of shops and restaurants around me. I'll stay home and hope for the best.
Stay safe out there!
UPDATE:
Cities are falling into chaos again today. Chicago is burning. In Minneapolis, the police were trying to clear the highways and protesters started fighting each other, as well as the police.
It's scary to me that now the Los Angelos protests have spilled into Santa Monica - the beach town. This is just insane. In Minneapolis, they have started just arresting people. I think that's good and justifiable at this point.
I also just heard that Dallas has put in a curfew. That should help them justify more arrests. I want justice, but burning down buildings and looting is not the answer. These protests have turned violent and thus need to be shut down.
Stay safe out there!
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