It Will Get Better

Several things happened, which made me feel more positive and reassured me that at least in the state, we could move in the right direction.

Illinois moved to phase 3 of reopening last Friday. The city was set to move to the next phase on Wednesday. And since the riots started, we were unsure whether the Mayor would proceed with the original plan.

She did. And I liked a lot how she explained her decision. She said that she traveled the city and talked with many business owners about what they think would be the right thing to do. And they all told her that the city should move on.

The Loop will still be closed, and the bridges will be up for now, but the rest of the city will start to reopen, with all precautions and reduced capacity, but still moving to phase 3. And that makes me feel really, really good. Now we need Metra to resume its services. They were shut down for the past two days, and now are cautiously reopening tomorrow.The other thing which elevated my spirits was that she said that if Trump tries to dispatch the military to the city, “she will see him in court.” And that will never happen on her watch.

Also, the governor reiterated that peaceful protests should continue because people have a right to express their frustration with injustice. I find it extremely important because if protesters were asked to stay home and not escalate the situation, it would mean that the goal of those who want to discredit the movement is achieved. I can’t even describe how I am thrilled that the fight for justice continues.

Also, during the past twenty-four hours, it became even more evident how all this looting thing was triggered and orchestrated. Several people are already in the custody of federal authorities.

And the last thing. We didn’t tell my mom what’s going on, and she didn’t ask. Since she reads only Russian news, and they do not talk about the riots, she had no way to know, and we decided to be quiet. However, today, when I visited mom, she asked about “this thing with the man who was killed by police.” I was really happy that she asked not about looting, but about the black man who was killed. That allowed me to speak pretty openly. I’ve explained to her that this is not an “inflated case,” and that the black people are unjustly profiled. Since she knows that I am doing a lot of volunteering with underprivileged communities, she trusted me, and that’s all I needed.

And although I didn’t plan to repost more pictures, there are some which I would love to show.

I chose all these photos from the Chicago Tribune; there were plenty of pictures of violence, looting, arsons, you name it. But those are the pictures of people’s solidarity that bring me hope. And the cleanup volunteers.