"Go home!"

"Go home!"

That was the order Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms gave to hundreds of rioters in downtown Atlanta last night, who took advantage of a peaceful protest and turned the place into a war zone. 

They eventually did go home, but not before vandalizing the CNN Center, breaking out the windows at McCormick and Schmick's, a downtown restaurant; torching several police cars, and streaming up into Buckhead, where they looted businesses around Lenox Mall and Phipps Plaza.

At the moment, it's quiet downtown, but who knows what tonight will bring?

Governor Brian Kemp has authorized 1500 National Guard troops to hopefully quell any more violence. 

As I write this, there is a peaceful protest going on outside of the Governor's Mansion in Atlanta.

71 arrests were made and 20 police cars were burned last night. 

What started it?

It began with a knee to the neck of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Floyd had been arrested on suspicion of passing a $20 bill.  He'd been handcuffed, questioned, and then, when the cops started to take him to the car, he resisted. 

I don't know how he ended up on the ground with officer Derek Chauvin's knee on his neck, but Floyd pleaded, "I can't breathe . . . I can't breathe."  If this story sounds familiar, those were also the last words of Eric Garner, who was placed in a chokehold by an NYPD officer, and who died as a result. 

Eight minutes later, Floyd had suffocated. 

Floyd was African-American.  Chauvin was white. 

Coming on the heels of the murder of Ahmaud Arbery and the shooting of Louisville, Kentucky resident Breonna Taylor -- shot by police who forced their way into what they later said was the wrong house -- both victims being African-American, the shooters being white -- Floyd's death was the last straw.

I have seen an outpouring of anger, rage, sorrow, and other emotions from whites and people of color this week on social media.  I have seen people of color, some of whom I know in real life, who say that they do not feel safe.  One young man doesn't feel safe jogging in his neighborhood anymore since the murder of Ahmaud Arbery.  A mother does not feel safe wearing a mask out in public because the perception of an African-American in a mask spells "they are up to no good". 

Last night, Atlanta blew up. 

Atlanta was not the only city that blew up.  Minneapolis blew up, the second or third night in a row it has done so.  Houston blew up.  Los Angeles blew up. 

I am a white woman.  I have a limited voice.  While I have African-American friends, I can not even begin to say, yes, I know how you feel, I understand.  No, I don't understand!  I don't understand how people can hate people based on the color of their skin.  I don't understand the roots of systemic racism and systemic discrimination. 

And I am not a leader, so I don't know how to make it better. 

Right now, I am listening to two women, Keshia Lance-Bottoms and Erika Shields (police chief of Atlanta, Georgia) saying in no uncertain terms that what happened last night in Atlanta will not be tolerated again.  I pray that any protests stay peaceful. 

I will raise my voice and add mine to Mayor Bottoms:

"If you care about this city, GO HOME!"

Just my .04, adjusted for inflation.