Lev Lazinskiy

No Justice, No Peace

I left work today and was amazed at the site of hundreds of people marching down Market St. People of all ages, races, genders, ethnicities, and sexual orientations. Angry, fed up, determined to have their voices heard. It was a moving sight to say the least. Of course my phone was dead at the time, so instead of photos, I will describe what I witnessed.

As they made their way up the street, they said many things.

No Justice, No Peace, No Racist, Police. The whole damn system is broken as hell. Black Lives Matter

The most inspiring part was that some joined in. People who were not planning on being a part of this were moved to walk side by side and make their voices heard too.

There was a guy playing his saxaphone in front of Westfield mall. Even with all of the noise, he kept on playing. I didn’t hear a single note that he played, but his dedication to his craft inspired me so I threw $5 into his sax case.

Like many people, I am shocked, saddened, even disgusted with the current state of affairs in this country. I am glad we live in a place where we are legally allowed to come together and tell the powers that be that the system is fucked. I hope someone is listening. When non-violent demonstrations fail to be recognized, they tend to turn violent. In some cities this has already happened.

We must come together. Young and old, gay and straight, christian and muslim, black and white. We must come together and make this world a place where we can all live in peace. There is no other alternative.

Update

I made my way over to City Hall after my phone charged for a bit and took a couple of photos. Many people spoke, and I stood there and listened. The most profound thing that I heard, was the end of one woman’s speech:

I can no longer accept the things I cannot change. I must change the things that I cannot accept.