Laura Jedeed (Misanthrophile)

The mood is somber, subdued. It's very weird to be here in daylight. An activist I've seen before gives a speech with a megaphone near the courthouse. The official stage is in front of the Justice Center. Seems to be a break in speeches there

Crowd completely blocks traffic. People sitting on the Justice Center sidewalk. Weird how this is fine when the sun is out and the bodies in the street wear jeans and t-shirts, but violent rioting when it's night and everyone wears black

The speaker just told a Will Smith joke, which I will not subject you to This is a very wholesome gathering and I'm about to wander off

The North Park blocks are currently deserted. This is not my most exciting live-tweet thread

This preacher is refusing to leave. A fight breaks out. Activist on megaphone: "What are we supposed to do about this? Asking all you white people who like to take pictures. Can we let the white people handle it since it's their white person?"

This incident unfortunately gets to an elephant that wanders amongst us every night: what do we replace the police with? How do we deal with malicious actors in our midst? This is not rhetorical. The police are unquestionably toxic, but we have to work on alternatives