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By Andy Borowitz June 11, 2020 WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In a series of angry tweets on Thursday, Donald J. Trump lashed out at the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Mark Milley, declaring, “This is not the military I avoided serving in.” Calling Milley’s apology for appearing in last week’s controversial church photo op “a disgrace,” Trump said, “The United States military of my youth was known for courage and valor, which is why I got a podiatrist’s note to get out of being a part of it.” Andy Borowitz is a Times best-selling author and a comedian who has written for The New Yorker since 1998. He writes The Borowitz Report, a satirical column on the news.

By Jeffrey D. Sachs (China Daily Global) Globalization is not ending but is decisively changing its form. The great tectonic plates that undergird our world - technological, geopolitical, and environmental - are shifting dramatically, causing political and social earthquakes around the world. Many governments can't cope; many institutions are cracking. Throughout the world, we will have to scramble to reshape our institutions for a dramatically changed global landscape. Deep upheavals of globalization are not new, but are always tumultuous. The great upheavals of past globalizations - I count our new era as the seventh age of globalization - have been paced by changes in technology, institutions, and nature. The end of the last ice age and the birth of agriculture gave rise to a new global age; the printing press and Columbus' voyages of discovery to another; and the inventions of the steam engine coupled with global capitalism to yet another. With these discoveries came new forms of politics, economics and global competition, and, all too often, conflict. Ours is the new digital age, which began in the 1930s when the great British genius Alan Turing envisioned the possibility of universal computation based on sequences of 0's and 1's, and when he and polymath John von Neumann began to put that vision into operation during World War II. The computer, the postwar transistor, then integrated circuits, fiber optics and Moore's law, the observation that the number of transistors in a dense integrated circuit doubles about every two years, all helped to turn Turing's vision into a new digital age. This technological revolution is now disrupting every aspect of economic and social life. We are in the new world of e-everything: commerce, education, governance, production, healthcare and culture. COVID-19 is the world's first e-epidemic. We work online from home, track the virus's path on mobile apps, and scour the world's social media for tips on how to stay alive. The digital revolution is the key to understanding the geopolitical revolution as well, the one that has brought China to the front ranks of global power, diminished the United States in relative terms as digital technologies have spread worldwide, and opened the world of social media, fake news, and electronic tribalism and e-terror brilliantly predicted a half-century ago by futurist and philosopher Marshall McLuhan. The American Century is now over and gone, in ashes as the US cities are again aflame in protest at persistent racism, vast inequalities and shocking failures of governance, especially of the US administration. While America no longer occupies the global center stage, no single country or region or alliance will replace it. Like it or not, and many do not, we truly live in McLuhan's global village. If the new century "belongs "to anyone, it is to the new technologies and to the tech giants. The digital age has already fundamentally reshaped the world economy, and thereby the physical environment, through the birth of global supply chains, global logistics, mass travel and trade, and worldwide industrialization and agriculture. Global economic growth has also brought about mass deforestation, the mass destruction of land and marine habitats, the collapse of biodiversity, and the massive emission of greenhouse gases that are destabilizing the global climate. It has pushed humanity into new ecological niches wherein humans and animals exchange novel viruses, giving rise to new emerging infectious diseases such as the COVID-19 virus that is ravaging societies everywhere. But COVID-19 is just the latest of many such zoonotic diseases, including SARS, MERS and Ebola. There will be others, too. It is not surprising, therefore, that our current upheavals have hit a world that lacks a leader to face them. The age of US leadership has passed, but the need for global cooperation has only increased. US President Donald Trump's calls for America First are naive, reactionary and confused at a time when global challenges require global-scale solutions. China rightly favors international cooperation but needs to convince many worried nations that its vast powers and technological might will be put to use for the global good. Europe is divided in its politics, but is mostly united in the view that the world will need a stronger global system to address the current upheavals. The transitions from one global age to the next have typically been periods of geopolitical competition and conflict. Nations scramble to harness the new technologies for wealth, power and glory. Yet brazen competition today, in a thermonuclear age beset by pandemic diseases, environmental devastation and the fragilities of global supply chains and infrastructure vulnerable to collapse and attack, could end us all. Only a shared vision, not a new scramble for power in the current disarray, can underpin peace and survival. The new age of globalization should therefore not forsake the great accomplishments of the preceding age, including the US-led creation of the United Nations. The UN Charter is still a sound basis for global security, albeit one that must be updated to move beyond the special privileges accorded to the five "permanent powers" of the UN Security Council. The UN's Universal Declaration of Human Rights is still the world's moral charter, and one that is the product of many cultures, as it combines Western enlightenment values with Confucian wisdom and Islamic insights. It still stands today as a great beacon of hope and shared global values. Yet the great UN innovations of the 1940s are no longer sufficient 75 years on. Our new global age needs to build a new unity of nations for the 21st century, ready to rebuild from the current COVID-19 crisis on the basis of social justice and environmental sustainability. The most important concept will surely be global solidarity, or as the UN puts it, "leaving no one behind".With pandemic diseases, global climate change and the ongoing degradation of the world's ecosystems, no region will be safe unless all are safe. Even through the flames today engulfing America's cities, we can discern a new path for a new age. By looking back to history we can look forward. Globalization will not go away, but it can and must be better managed. There will be no solution that rejects technology, only solutions that harness technology for the common good. Economy and politics are not separate spheres, but are inevitably joined together, for better or for ill. The two faces of politics - as a naked struggle for power or as a quest for the common good - have always been with us. Well-being can be secured only when we choose politics and economics for the common good, which is the most important lesson for our time. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202006/08/WS5edd9981a310834817251697.html

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From Robin Cohen/Herndon, Virginia I recently heard a black political commentator talk about the multitude of cautions he drills into his teenaged sons. I was struck by the amount of “worry” black parents have, in particular for their sons. As a white mother of two sons, I thought about my worry list. The comparison is stark. While I’m sure black moms impart the same motherly advice as I do, I, on the flip side, have never thought it necessary to talk about ways to keep my sons safe from law enforcement. As I write the above, it occurs to me that it is impossible for white people to truly understand the day-to-day pulsing anxiety black people experience. The horrific death of George Floyd is a grim reminder that this fear, and as a result, the above list, are a sobering necessity. It is sad and shameful that we keep returning to this awful place in our history. From Barbara Collier/Portsmouth, New Hampshire Holed up in my hometown of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, I photographed two women who took their protests to the main square. The digital sign reads "THE MASK IS ALL WE ASK." The protest signs are "BLACK LIVES MATTER" and "I CAN'T BREATHE." Day 3 today of protest rallies in Portsmouth! Things have certainly heated up in a good way. Thousands of enthusiastic changemakers! Mostly young and white.

From Bill Tynan/Manhattan (Midtown East) Last Sunday, I told friends that I was about to drive back from Connecticut, where because of COVID-19 I’ve been sequestering since mid-March, for a one-day stay in my New York City apartment. They advised against it. After all, I’m in the health-endangered Golden Ager demographic. Even more problematic, they felt, were the sometimes-violent demonstrations and looting that had been going on for five days in various parts of the city, as elsewhere in the country, in response to the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. But after closely monitoring the radio and television reports in the 24 hours that led up to my departure, I decided to make the trip. And I’m glad I did. I reached my apartment quickly and easily. Just after 4 p.m., while I was paying some bills, I heard a commotion outside. Something was happening down on the street. (Even though my apartment is on the 23rd floor, sound has always carried up to it easily.) I quickly realized that what I was hearing was demonstrators. Protestors. I was surprised. I live in a nondescript residential section of Manhattan, on First Avenue, a block from the East River and far from what is usually thought of as the action. What impetus was there, I wondered, for demonstrators to be drawn to my area? Opening a window to look down to the street, I saw and heard what at first looked like part of the Thanksgiving parade: slowly pedaling uptown was a neat phalanx of four dozen or so bike riders. They had claimed all four lanes of the avenue. And they were followed, I soon saw, by more dozens—no, hundreds!— of people on foot. People of all colors, many dressed in black, most wearing masks and some carrying signs, which I unfortunately couldn’t read from my location. The group was orderly, peaceful and determined. I found the sight moving. “George Floyd!,” they were chanting, over and over again. As they moved up the avenue, to be replaced by new marchers, the chant evolved. It became, “Black lives matter!” Then, “Justice now!” And, “I can’t breathe!” And stunningly, with arms raised high above their heads, “Don’t shoot!” The group rotated back and forth among the chants, again and again. I had looked at my clock when I first heard the crowd. I looked at it again when the last of the group had finally passed, at its rear a lone police car, its red, white and blue lights flashing. It had taken the marchers some 22 minutes to pass by below, striding six or seven or even eight and nine across. They can’t have been only hundreds, I now thought. Surely they had numbered in the thousands. Indeed they had, I found out the day after from a radio report. The NYPD estimated the group as being about 4,000. They had been on their way to Gracie Mansion, the New York City mayor’s residence, some two miles north of me. In retrospect, and even when I was watching them, I think it was not only the group’s mission but also their demeanor that I found so moving. Though determined— even passionate— about what they were doing, they seemed to be nearly as determined to be respectful of their fellow citizens on the sidewalks, many of whom cheered them as they passed by and even joined in the chanting. If pedestrians wanted to cross the avenue, the group let them walk right through their ranks. Onlookers who ran into the marchers’ midst to take cell-phone videos were skirted, courteously, perhaps actually welcomed as providing proof of the group’s peacefulness. I also found out today that the group had been marching to Gracie Mansion because they’d been told that the mayor was at home. By the time they got there, though, he had left. Too bad. I wish he’d been there to witness them marching and behaving in what I’d like to think of as the best of the American way. In response to the worst of the American way. From Ruth Balin/Manhattan (Midtown) I walked from 51st and Fifth to 60th and Madison. The warm weather and quiet were pleasant. And Central Park, all green, in the distance was beautiful. But the boarded windows along the way were shocking. From Charles Polit/Manhattan (Chelsea)

From Stephi Tikalsky/Minneapolis, Minnesota I never thought I’d live someplace where there was a curfew. Last Friday (June 5), it was on every overpass: CURFEW 9 p.m.-6 a. m. Every overpass. Even my south suburban community has had a curfew. Two local car lots moved every car off the lot as word came that there would be protests here. There were. They were peaceful. The cars came back. My daughter Libby lives near where George was killed. Many boarded up businesses, most preemptively, but many many MANY more people paying respects, protesting, gathering together. Sadly, the greatest destruction is on a commercial corridor not far from there; sad because it leaves the community without drugstores, groceries, hardware stores, etc. Many were small and owned by people of color and immigrants. Our community is numb and reeling. We want to believe that this time there really will be change. We wanted to believe that “our own people” would never have been so destructive. Yes, there were outsiders, but sadly, our own people were also to blame. Our local government officials, city and state, have shown remarkable leadership AND compassion. This was a no-win situation for them. Perhaps the National Guard should have been called in earlier but honestly, I don’t think so. Wrong message. But in waiting, more destruction, arson, et cetera. As with the virus, so much is being made up as we go along, as we’ve not been HERE before. Above all, I would include “hopeful’ as one of my emotions. What we have seen from our youth continues to bring me hope. Two teenagers arranged an “I can’t breathe” sit-in on the capitol lawn. They hoped for a couple hundred people. They got 16,000-plus! Sitting socially distanced, with their signs, mostly silent, some chants. It was something to behold. I have long told my kids, “I am so sorry. We have made a mess of many things. Your generation will be the one to clean things up.” They understand, and I believe this generation will be one to do what’s necessary. From Robert Osborne/Lincoln, Nebraska Robert Osborne, 18, is studying to be an architect at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln. He just finished his first year. The Insider asked him about his experience at a protest early in the morning on Saturday, May 30 and a second protest later that night. “At 1 a.m., I started hearing a car honking and lots of cheering. My friend Ben in my fraternity and I went to check it out. That’s when we learned it was the protest. When we went out there, it was very peaceful, People were out in the street, in the intersection, blocking traffic and everything. But it was generally peaceful. There had to have been several hundred people. I’m sure there were some students, but a lot of people are gone right now. The crowd was at least 80% African-American. Ben and I are two white, Jewish kids. It was a good representation of everybody out there. A lot of young people. At about 2 a.m., there was a hit and run by a truck. They hit a black woman and drove off. That caused a huge commotion. This was right on our street corner. Everybody was thinking that it was on purpose, because it was a hit and run. No one else got hit, and all of the other cars were going slow. She didn’t seem too bad. When she got into the ambulance everybody was cheering and waving to her. She was waving back to everybody. After that happened, it understandably really riled everyone up out there. Notably so, and understandably. All of that pent-up rage in the crowd. People went across to the street to the E-Z GO gas station and started busting up windows. There were fireworks like flashbangs going off and dirt bikers revving. There were maybe 10 minutes of that, and the cops all came. The riot police were coming out with shields and everything. They had a huge line in the parking lot next to the gas station, on foot. At first, it was pretty peaceful, There was a lot of tension, everybody busting up the gas station and looting. In my opinion, it’s definitely bad. It’s wrong. But I also feel that all of the pent-up energy and all of the anger that we’ve kind of given to so many, there are going to be those bad people in the crowd that will do things like this. I believe it’s kind of understandable. I don’t think at any moment I was frightened for my life per se, but looking back at it now, it definitely was a scary situation. Once the police were lined up, they started moving forward, inching forward, to push the crowd back. Once they got under the awning of the gas station, that’s when things really started to get bad. They were crowding the gas station doors, not letting anybody in. Then, people across the street started shooting fireworks off. Ben and I were pretty much on the front lines, it just kind of happened that way. I told him, “This is a bad situation, The most we can do here is understand how everyone is feeling. let’s throw up some peace signs and show them to the cops. Be peaceful in this situation. A little sense of normalcy, I guess. He and I made peace signs with our hands. People were throwing water bottles and everything at the cops, and the fireworks. Then the cops started throwing tear gas out. I didn’t notice it right away, but when the crowd was still there, they started teargassing everybody, pepper spraying us. It kind of felt like being on fire. One second, I was okay, standing there, throwing up my peace signs, and the next second, my face is burning and I can’t breathe. I was choking, coughing, spitting up—really bad. It was from the pepper spray--it was directly in my face. But the compassion from the crowd was definitely felt. They were all saying…milk, water, wash this guy’s eyes out. They were trying to help everyone who was getting injured in this situation, whether someone gets trampled, whether someone gets pepper-sprayed or tear-gassed. After we got pepper sprayed and gassed, we hung around a bit longer, to see how it ended up. But soon after the worst happened, and a few started to break the Metro PCS windows next door, the protest dwindled. A few hung around on the intersection, but it ended with the gas. That night (May 30) at 7 pm, protestors started marching past our house again. My friends and I went out and marched with them. There were seven of us. This was the Black Lives Matter protest march. There were two or three hundred people. We were marching—blocking the intersections, blocking the roads, chanting. This was in the city, outside of the campus, about two miles away from our house. Everyone on the road was honking their horns in support of everybody, heads out of the windows, cheering for the protest, showing their support for everything. I saw a lot more white people this night, as opposed to Friday night. It was earlier, and the sentiment also felt a lot more peaceful and calm during this march, than the rioting the night before. It had started at the capitol building and ended up back there at about 10 pm. After that, we all marched to the police headquarters, about six blocks from the capitol building. There, they had the riot police waiting for us, on the top steps of the building to protect it. It was pretty peaceful at that point, we were chanting and showing our support. But once the water-bottle throwing at the police began, that’s when everything fell apart and the violence started. We stuck around for a little bit, to see what would happen, but then they started throwing tear gas, and that pretty much dispersed a lot of people. Everybody was busting up the windows of the headquarters, I didn’t feel unsafe at any point, but it definitely got energized. They were trying to make their mark. The most violent stuff I saw was from the cops themselves. There were definitely agitators among the crowds and the protestors, but I would say that some of the police measures were definitely not proportional. There’s a curfew tonight, but there wasn’t one yesterday. There was a lot of support from the white people out there, Obviously, we’ll never understand the stress and everything that the whole African-American community feels. But I know that as a white person, I can at least give my support to them for the movement, which I feel is absolutely necessary. The George Floyd murder was absolutely sickening and the end goal of all of these protests is to get all of the cops indicted and in jail, and that’s absolutely what should happen. I do feel that people need to keep telling the government and telling everybody that’s what needs to happen and we’re not going to stop until it does. It was a very supportive atmosphere. From the inside, it was very close together and welcoming, I would say. The first night had more of a riotous feel to it. It was definitely a supportive feeling, but once the rioting happened, it got kind of hectic. But even during that, there was everyone on the sidelines just watching the people going to the gas station and taking their stuff out. But those people are just like anyone else. They feel the way that we do. I definitely believe there are people who are out there just to riot, but there are a lot of good people out there. I didn’t see anybody out there who was from out of state, as far as I knew. But so many have been pushed to such extremes that something like this is going to happen, and you just have to roll with it. A lot of people were wearing masks, either to hide their identity or for the coronavirus, I would say that 30% of people had masks on. I was wearing a mask. It could have been higher—there were a lot of bandanas. There’s risk of getting sick, but I also feel that we can’t be silenced, that people can’t be silenced. They need to make their statement. Unfortunately, this is what’s happening. To me, the fact that it is happening in Lincoln already for three days is kind of a surprise. I was talking to the manager of Burger King, and he said, yeah, I’ve lived here my whole life, but not once have I ever experienced anything like this. He was about 35. It’s true—in the Midwest, things like this don’t happen. But this is happening here, and I definitely feel this will not stop until justice has been served. From Charles Cole/Chicago, Illinois Charles Cole, 20, just finished his junior year at Swarthmore College, where he is majoring in engineering. He attended several protest marches in his hometown of Chicago last week. This is a portion of what Charles told The Insider during a phone interview about his experience protesting on Saturday, May 30: “The march started at Federal Plaza on Dearborn at 2 pm. I was with a good friend and his two roommates. It was very crowded, definitely in the thousands. There were speakers, but you couldn’t really see them or hear them that well. From there, people just started walking northeast, and disparate groups bumped into each other. All of the streets were lined with cars that were intentionally parked there, just sounding their horns to show solidarity and support. That went on all the way down State Street. Cars everywhere, honking, screaming, showing support. Pretty much everyone I saw was wearing a mask There were people distributing masks. The only people not wearing masks were police officers. It became clear that people were heading towards Trump Tower. In general, I noticed that at moments when there were more police there, tensions rose, things got a little more angry, with pushing and shoving. When you were just marching on a street, it was very positive, with cheering. Then, all of a sudden, it would become clear that there was a line of cops ahead, or a line of cops along the side. I think people got very nervous and very anxious then, and that’s when you saw scuffles going down. People were throwing water bottles at cops and what not. I saw one fist fight between two cops and some people. Then, at Trump Tower, there was a very, very long line of cops blocking the entrance. A lot of protestors went right in front of them; a couple graffitied cop cars; some got their tires popped and their windows smashed. We wanted to be a little safer at that moment, so we walked away. My friend and I went down to Chinatown to get dinner, always with the idea of coming back in at night. Things had really started the night before, so we understood that the nighttime is really when these major protest movements are going to be made. While we were down in Chinatown eating dinner, we were on Twitter. They announced that all of the bridges over the river in Chicago were going to be put up. After we walked up from Chinatown to go into the city again, it was CRAZY! I saw things I never thought I would see. Very apocalyptic. In the middle of State Street, for probably three straight blocks, there were cop cars the whole way, all with their popped tires, completely graffitied. A lot of them had smashed windows. A couple of them were burnt out. A lot of smashed businesses, broken into. It really, really felt a little apocalyptic. You could see cops doing absolutely nothing. Wherever there are lines of cops, there is going to be animosity between them and protestors. I saw some smashing of windows, going into businesses, taking things at Footlocker and at jewelry stores and at Macy’s, but I definitely didn’t see violence towards other people. At about 8:30 pm, we made it up a more north to Wacker, which is right next to the river, and we saw all the bridges up. That’s where we found more of a traditional, conventional protest going on. People chanting: “Hands up, don’t shoot,” “No justice, no peace.” There was a line of not just police officers, but an additional line of what looked to be a riot team, with tear gas and either rubber bullet guns or bean bag guns. I don’t think they were about to shoot any of that—those protestors were the most peaceful, least likely to require tear gas or anything. From Tobye Stein/Northville, Michigan I'm ANGRY! George Floyd was murdered. The murderer has been arrested, yet his accomplices went free for far too long. I was certain that we wouldn’t see peace if these men weren’t charged. While the officials dawdled in Minneapolis failing to arrest these men, the country was ablaze. People of color, men and women, white people young and old are horrified and angry. Many of us have seen our cities burn before during the 1967 riots and again in 1968 after Dr. King was assassinated. As a teenager, I'll admit I was afraid and distraught. My original childhood neighborhood was on fire, and I cried. Now, I'm angry not afraid. I'm not Black and the likelihood of my being arrested and assaulted by the police is slim, but I can still empathize with the Black community and understand that Black lives matters. I'm angry because so many people are blaming the Black communities for the destruction. While our nation burns, our president remains silent except for insulting and incendiary tweets! Donny must be vewwy, vewwy afwaid, wunning to his undergwound bunker, but where do the residents go when their homes and businesses are set on fire? And still he tweets telling the governors to crack down on the protesters. Let him come out of hiding and address the nation, demand some. But if he does, will his statements reiterate what he said after Charlottesville? Presidents are supposed to calm the country. Donald Trump adds fuel to the fire. In the meantime, when protesters armed with assault rifles came to Lansing, my state capitol, did Trump tell them to go home and obey the governor's shelter-in-place order. NO! He sided with his gun-toting supporters and chastised our governor for not negotiating with these good people. His good people are nothing more than terrorists. Now, while most protestors are peaceful law-abiding citizens, the president wants to quell the protests. The nation has been on edge for months because of the mishandled coronavirus response, but the virus is nothing compared to the ongoing disease of hatred and racism that has been untreated in our country for centuries. The president and the GOP make the infection worse with lies about mail-in voting resulting in more votes for Democrats and rampant fraud. These lies only make the fires worse. It adds fuel to the fire of the privileged white people in their hate of Black Americans and all people of color. Until we as a country recognize and admit the transgressions against minorities and especially the Black community, there will be no peace. Until there is justice there will be no peace. I'm angry because the people who suffer the most during and after the violence are the same innocent people whose homes and businesses are being destroyed. I'm angry because the coronavirus is killing these same people at a higher rate than other Americans. I'm angry because these same innocent people are having their voting rights eroded again and again. And I'm angry because we allow our police departments the latitude to mistreat and kill people without weapons who are not resisting arrest, all because their skin is dark. I can speak up here, and I can speak up with my ballot. But what if enough people don't speak up? I'm angry because I believe Americans in November will make the same stupid mistake that was made in 2016. Many friends reassured me that our country would never elect Donald Trump as I predicted then, but it's just what Americans did. I could lie and say now that I've vented and no longer angry, but I won't. I'm ANGRY.

By Madeline Barry Many musicians have taken to social media this past week to voice their opinions on the recent protests, and to advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement. Instagram is the favored platform for these displays of solidarity. The list below consists of five talented musicians from different musical backgrounds who have all used Instagram to show their support for those who are taking to the streets to demand action. Jon Batiste: The renowned jazz musician Jon Batiste, who is known for his eclectic genre-bending style and his role as bandleader on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, announced the release of his new musical project on his Instagram account. The 30-minute album is called “Meditations”. The songs, which have names like “Prayer”, “Relationships” and “Teardrops,” are meant to encourage listeners to meditate to these themes. Batiste hopes the album will channel feelings of empathy as it relates to “genuine and lasting change”. As for the album’s timed release, Batiste writes on his Instagram page, “It is fitting that we are releasing this album during such a tumultuous time for the black community and I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a black artist in America. The reality is, no matter how successful or visible you are, you are vulnerable to the same common set of injustices simply because of the color of your skin. I have come to learn that while there is a lot that is outside of my control at this time, when it comes to my art I have the utmost freedom in the worlds I create, the space that I fill and the values I live out with my fellow humans.” https://www.instagram.com/jonbatiste/ Singer Fiona Apple whose new album Fetch the Bolt Cutters was just released in April, protested at a Black Lives Matter rally in Santa Monica on Monday this week (June 1). Photos of the singer appeared on her friend’s Instagram (the singer does not have her own Instagram account). Apple proudly holds a sign that exclaims “Cops: Don’t be White Chauvinists! Arrest the other three!” Oteil Burbidge Musician Oteil Burbidge, known for his work with The Allman Brothers Band, Tedeschi Trucks Band, and Dead and Co., posted pictures of himself marching in his undisclosed hometown on his Instagram page. Burbidge also posted photos of his children decorating homemade “Black Lives Matter” signs. In one particularly poignant photo, Burbidge, who is black, stands beside his young son holding a poster that reads “Is My Son Next?” The caption reads, “George Floyd was another victim in a long line of murders that break the hearts and tests the minds and spirits of people like me who identify with him and his family and friends...It’s been this way here in America since the very beginning. It’s baked in the cake. It’s in our collective DNA...Taking part in this small protest is the only thing that has given me some real relief even if it is temporary. Hearing so many cars beeping in solidarity showed me that right here in Trump’s backyard there are many that oppose this cancer in the body of America.” https://www.instagram.com/oteil_burbridge/ Margo Price Country singer-songwriter Margo Price vocalized her support of the Black Lives Matter Movement by staying silent. Beneath a photo of a young black woman kneeling before a line of heavily armed riot officers, she writes, “In solidarity with the black community and to challenge my own white privilege, I will not be playing any of the live streams I had planned nor will I be sharing my own content starting today through June 7. I will be using my voice solely to bring light to the tragedy and suffering for my black brothers and SHOULD THIS BE SISTERS? Sister.” https://www.instagram.com/missmargoprice/ Cardi B Cardi B, the animated Bronx-born rapper who is known for fearlessly speaking her mind, posted an Instagram TV video in which she addressed looting, the role of social media in police violence, and the importance of voting. “Seeing people looting and going extremely outraged, you know it makes me feel like yes… finally mutha******* gonna hear us now…. It do scare me and I don’t want anyone to get hurt. It’s just really frustrating, you wanna know why?... Police brutality has been more visual since social media really started getting poppin’… Let’s say since Instagram started, how many peaceful protests have we seen?... People are tired...so now this is what people have to resort to.. And another thing, I also want to say this...Another way for the people to take power.. It’s by voting. And when I say voting, I’m not only talking about the President… We have to vote.” https://www.instagram.com/iamcardib/ Patti Smith The punk rock poet, Patti Smith posted a black and white photo of George Floyd holding his daughter, Gianna, as a baby. His hands are wrapped protectively around her tiny body, and his mouth is open, as if he is in the middle of singing her a song. She stares back, wide-eyed. Smith captioned the photo with a poem. “This is/ unblemished love, a love/ that should have been able/ to daily grow. What will this/ child be told of us? Of George/ Floyd’s murder? Banners are/ tossed in the river, words/ that are not magnified by/ deep systemic change are/ but words. I look at this image/ and hear the lines of Blake;/ Little lamb who made thee?/ Dost thou know who made thee.” https://www.instagram.com/thisispattismith/ Madeline Barry is a high school English teacher at Northside Charter High School in North Williamsburg, Brooklyn. She teaches three sections of senior English and two introductory Latin classes.  Figuring out virtual learning, listening to music, and writing for The Insider has kept her semi-sane during the quarantine.

From Sandy Adler/Scottsdale, Arizona Arizona Governor Doug Ducey today instituted a curfew from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. across the state of Arizona for the next week. Last night (June 30), there were protesters in downtown Phoenix for the second night in a row. From what I saw on the news, most people were marching and carrying signs. There was some destruction of property and the police in Phoenix seemed to have handled the crowd as well as possible except for some people who really got out of hand with destruction of property. The crowd seemed to be a mix of all ages and all races. The really surprising story is what happened in downtown Scottsdale the same night. There seemed to be very little protesting and just mainly destruction of property. It was mostly young people (the news said teens and young adults). They broke into the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall and you could see looters running out of the mall with clothing and other items. They broke into the Apple store where most of the store was put away, but you could see some of the intruders damaging the store displays. Many other stores were damaged. There is a Mercedes dealership just across from the mall and giant windows were broken and you could see people inside the showroom. I have heard that the destruction in downtown Scottsdale was in the millions of dollars. Only a dozen people were arrested. I understand protest and I certainly think it is warranted in our country right now. We have the First Amendment right to protest, but I don't believe there is right to trash private property. The mall is closed today. It was just starting to open up after shelter-in-place orders have been lifting here. People were going back to work in those stores. Those retail businesses and their employees have already been negatively impacted by the pandemic. I can't help but think back to the Detroit riots in 1967 when I was 14 years old. It is so depressing that 50 years later, we are still doing the same thing and battling the same inequities in our culture. It has unquestionably gotten worse in the past few years but it wasn't great before then. I worry for my family members who are African American. I worry for my family members who are Jewish. I worry for my friends who are Muslim. I worry for my friends who are Dreamers and their parents who are sometimes afraid to go out and get caught by ICE even though they work and pay taxes. I continue to hope for a kinder, gentler country. And, unquestionably, we need better leadership to get there. From Anita Newman/Scottsdale, Arizona We got this very ominous email from our building’s board of directors late in the afternoon, a couple of days ago. It was the afternoon after the riot, or looting, or demonstration, or protest at the big Scottsdale mall, Fashion Square. That’s where there were protests, and it became looting and breaking windows and et cetera. So the next day, they were concerned. I guess on social media, somebody told me they were targeting malls. It seems to be different groups of people. I think when it first started, they really didn’t know who was who. So we got this ominous email telling us what to do in the event of an emergency, possibly a fire. They were worried about fires, because we are in a mall, and there are shops below us on one side of my building. They were concerned that people would be breaking in, or there would be fires, and that obviously would affect our building. So they went into great detail about what to do if there were a fire. So when I got this email, I went downstairs to the lobby. And the concierge, the person who usually sits there, was gone. There was the property manager of the mall, and they were papering the doors and the windows, so that people couldn’t see in. I was talking to him, and asking him what was going on. He said, there are two police officers parked in every entrance to the mall at night. All the stores were closed. There’s an entrance right near my building, and I saw the police officers. Everybody was very nervous that night, They said, don’t forget your ID. If we have to evacuate the building, we are going to meet in the parking lot. There were protests that night, but not here. That first night, I got a call from a friend who lives in a fancy neighborhood. She was getting alerts and phone calls from the police all night long. She was very concerned; she was texting me all night. She said, “I have glass windows.’ She said she was packing a bag, just in case. It made everybody nervous, including me. It was not good. Since that night, they have been posting police officers, and are on high alert. There have been protests, but not a lot of people, not what is going on in New York City. There has been a statewide 8 p.m. curfew for a week. It has been quiet since the first night with peaceful protests taking place. I believe in peaceful protests. People have every right to exercise their First Amendment rights. But I don’t condone violence or the destruction of property. I hope that the protests will spur more political action.

By Alan Resnick I’m a private person by nature, so my social media presence is minimal. I’ve never moved beyond Facebook and, even now, it’s more as a voyeur than as an active participant. My posts are limited to sharing significant events or milestones in my life or those of my family, photographs from vacations, botanical gardens, or zoos, and articles that I find thought-provoking or funny. And I’ll make an occasional comment in regard to a friend’s posting, but I’m a tough audience and rather tight-fisted about doling out emojis. So there are lots of things on Facebook that I struggle to understand, such as why, back in the good old days prior to COVID-19, some people felt it necessary to let others know where they were dining or what play they were attending. One of the current things that has me perplexed is the phenomenon of what I call “third party” or “proxy” Facebook posts, which I define as posts in which a formal appeal is made to either like, share, or repost a photo and the accompanying caption. However, the person who posts the photo does not even know the people in the snapshot; they are simply serving as an agent or proxy for the subjects in the picture. Here’s an example of what I mean. A couple of days ago, a friend posted a picture of a very attractive, newly married couple who would be classified as “little people.” The caption is in the husband’s voice and indicates that the he believes that people are not sharing this picture because he and his wife are short, and concludes with: “Can we get a share?” Thinking they must be cousins, I messaged my friend to learn about the relationship. But my friend informed me that the newlyweds were complete strangers. They saw the picture on another friend’s post, found it cute, and decided to serve as a proxy for the couple. There are numerous variations of this type of post, such as: “It’s my birthday and nobody wants to share my photo,” “I bet there aren’t 100 people who will repost this,” or “Do you care enough to share this?” The accompanying pictures often are much tougher to look at than the newlyweds, graphically depicting people who have been in horrific accidents, burn victims, or abused pets. They are clearly intended to not just tug at your heartstrings, but rather to reach into your chest and yank your heart out. I’ve been thinking about how others react when they see these types of proxy posts. My noodling has led to the hypothesis that people’s responses reflect one of five personality types, and that the percentage of people in each type roughly corresponds to the bell-shaped or normal curve. I’ve also developed a completely unscientific one-item test to help you identify your type. The test is as follows: Your friend, Sandy, who does not own a dog, posts a picture of a young black and tan German Shepherd lying on the grass, curled up with its head propped up on its rear haunches, limpid eyes looking lovingly up at the camera. The accompanying caption reads: “I’m so sad no ever loves me. I don’t think I’ll get any likes.” Which of the following best matches your reaction to this post? A. Sandy would be so upset if I didn’t like this picture. B. What a sweet doggie. Of course I’ll like your picture. C. My neighbor had a German Shepherd. D. I wish my dog could type that well. E. Not from me, you won’t. People who answered “A” fall at the far left end of the bell curve. I call this personality type avoiders, the roughly 3% of the population who respond to these types of postings as requested, but not because of their emotional content. Instead, avoiders respond either out of feelings of guilt or out of fear of some interpersonal confrontation. They dread that Sandy may ask them what they thought of the posting, and don’t want to lie or simply be honest and say that the picture did not move them. Avoiders don’t want to appear uncaring or unfeeling, so they take the bait and preempt a possibly uncomfortable conversation. People who answered “B” are empathizers. These are people like my friend, the 13% of the population who are simply good, decent, kind, caring, and compassionate individuals. The picture resonates with them at an emotional level, and they readily share, repost, and/or give it a “like.” For an empathizer, responding as requested is a gesture of sympathy and support and only takes a few seconds, so what’s the big deal? People who responded “C” are in the middle of the curve. They are consumers. They are in that 68% of the population who look at the picture, read the caption, and move on to the next item on their Facebook feed. There is minimal, if any, either intellectual or emotional reaction. For them, this type of post is nothing other than a visual Skittle or popcorn kernel, simply another tidbit of entertainment or information to be consumed. Moving on to the right-hand side of the curve, the people who answered “D” are cynics. They are the Jerry Seinfelds, the folks who have more of an intellectual, detached, somewhat jaded view of these postings. Cynics wonder if the German Shepherd is being presumptuous in asking for affirmation. They struggle with the existential question of whether directly asking for approval in these types of posts is even necessary because, if the post is funny or impactful enough, people will respond without prompting. But they enjoy the irony of a dog or toddler being able to type or speak. And out on the far right end of the curve are those people who answered “E,” the crazed. If the cynics are the Seinfelds, the crazed are the George and Frank Costanzas of the world. They look at these posts and begin to mutter and sputter, pacing back and forth, mumbling to themselves questions like: “Who is a complete stranger to tell me what to like?” or “You bet I won’t share your photo? Well, you win that bet.” They start to scan their mental hard drive of snappy responses to perceived slights, so that they can put these emotional extortionists in their rightful place. “You want 100 likes? I hope you get 99.” In the spirit of transparency, I fall somewhere on the right-hand side of the curve. My typical initial reaction to such proxy posts is to ask myself: “Why would I do this?” So I guess I’m between types, not really cynical, but certainly not crazed. So, that’s my theory. Take a minute to complete the test and identify your type. Then, of course, feel free to like, share or repost. Alan Resnick is an industrial psychologist with over 40 years of professional experience. He and his wife are sheltering at home in Farmington Hills, Michigan. He is passing the time by cooking, exercising, catching up on friends’ recommendations of must-see TV and writing.