Flint Sheriff Shows How Easy It Is To De-escalate A Situation

People are angry. A man was murdered. Excuse me, another man was murdered. People want to be heard. Their anger acknowledged. They're being heard, by some. Sheriff Chris Swanson in Flint, Michigan, appears to be one of the ones listening. 

Officer Murphy in Atlanta appears to be listening.

Don't tell people how they should be reacting. No one fucking knows how to react. People want to know they've been heard, not met with instant conflict. Sheriff Swanson and Officer Murphy are doing their jobs. They don't appear scared, they don't look anxious or worried. They're serving and protecting amid large crowds of upset people. All of these protests around the country are powder kegs. A powder keg left unto itself can cause no harm, but once met with an accelerant they explode. Flint, Michigan, is a city that has repeatedly failed its own citizens over the years. They haven't had clean drinking water in Lord knows how many days. They've had to endure every day life, brutal winters, a pandemic, without being able to go home and have a clean shower or glass of water from their own faucet. There's a lot of powder in that particular keg, and Sheriff Swanson knows that. He showed up, he listened, he walked along side his citizens, he protected his city. Maybe that's oversimplifying it, I don't know, it looked pretty fucking simple to me.