Downtown Seattle on Saturday afternoon.
"After this person was sprayed, the situation quickly started to deteriorate." Photo by Nic Mayorga

The person who took this photo: Describes the events right before and right after it at the end of this post.

Fury over racism and injustice leads to three days of protests in Seattle streets. Here's a recap of Saturday and a recap of Sunday.

There were also demonstrations in Bellevue yesterday. It all started with "hundreds of people kneeling in the street and chanting 'Black lives matter' and 'say his name,'" referring to George Floyd, according to Seattle Times. Then other groups joined, and "Several people broke into Bellevue Square and stole items from the mall’s stores."

Please stop putting your fucking knees on people's necks, SPD. This incident from Saturday night is making national news.

One of the signs seen downtown over the weekend.
One of the signs in downtown Seattle on Saturday. Photo by Nic Mayorga

Please stop fucking with Jade Garden, people. The popular and beloved dim sum restaurant had its windows broken in March, which its owner attributed to COVID and anti-Chinese racism. Jade Garden was again vandalized and burglarized over the weekend.

How can you help Jade Garden? Give them your business.

One of the demonstrators in Seattle who was Maced? This kid, protesters allege, pointing the finger at officer Jared Campbell.

A kid apparently being treated after being sprayed by SPD.
A kid being treated after allegedly being sprayed by SPD. Photo by Evan Hreha

Does Campbell deny it? Does SPD deny it? We don't know, they won't return our calls. What has the mayor said? A whole bunch of nothing.

If you have pictures or video: Of the actual moment this kid was Maced (the video obtained and published by The Stranger does not show the moment itself) or if you have contact information for the kid's parents, please get in touch.

The mayor seemed more upset about vandalism and broken windows than she did about kids being Maced: As my colleague Rich Smith noted, broken windows are what got her choked up.

At least the mayor gives a shit about something. Trump does not give a shit about anything. He spent part of the weekend hiding in a bunker. "The president and his family have been shaken by the size and venom of the crowds."

So what has he done to diffuse tensions? A fuckload of nothing. He likes tensions. He wants a race war. He's gotta be loving this.

Where is Joe Biden? When is he going to come out in favor of reparations? When he was asked point blank about reparations in December, he literally didn't answer the question (skip ahead to the 1:27 mark).

Intel CEO says: Black Lives Matter. "Intel joined other prominent U.S. companies Monday pledging to do more to address systemic racism," The Columbian reports. They're putting $1 million toward the problem. I don't know if that's going to cut it, Intel, but it's a good start.

Nike released this ad:

OK, pop quiz: Who said it? "While no one condones looting, on the other hand, one can understand the pent-up feelings that may result from decades of repression and people who have had members of their family killed by that regime, for them to be taking their feelings out on that regime." No, it wasn't Black Lives Matter. It was Donald Rumsfeld, in 2003 comments about Iraq. Headline says Rumsfeld believes: "Looting Is Transition to Freedom."

A Confederate statue was torn down by protesters last night: In Birmingham, Alabama. We love to see it.

No new COVID deaths in Washington state announced yesterday: "But the daily increase in the number of new confirmed cases was the highest in a month," Seattle PI reports. Death toll in Washington state is 1,118, with a total of 21,702 cases.

You can dive into the data: Right here.

So what exactly was happening here?
So what exactly was happening here? Photo by Nic Mayorga

As promised: Here a the description from the photographer Nic Mayorga of what was happening.

The situation here started normally with protesters chanting and holding signs.The person in that photo is a protester being sprayed with mace as they are holding their hands up. The officers were yelling the whole time for the crowd to get back. Tensions were rising as the police struggled to maintain their perimeter. After this person was sprayed, the situation quickly started to deteriorate, with police officers shrinking into a smaller perimeter and protesters pushing their lines. After a while, police started spraying the crowd more freely with mace, and some threw flash bangs and tear gas to disperse the crowd. Protesters then start retaliating by throwing objects, and some creating petrol bombs. I then left the scene before it became too dangerous.

Do you need something peaceful to do this week? This party on Wednesday evening features two hours of unbelievably beautiful and relaxing piano music.