Point... CounterPoint, with beatitudes.

Letters to the Editor: Peace be with you! Sunday morning while I perused the Pioneer Press, as usual I read my old classmate from St. Jude’s of the Lake in Mahtomedi and two years at Hill High School (boys only), Joe Soucheray or Sooch! Being in our 70s now, I think Joe and I have become a little too negative or cynical in our surveying of our world, and in this case, the city of Minneapolis. The article on Minneapolis and its politics, policing, and upcoming Derek Chauvin trial resonated with me in a profound way. The killing of George Floyd, and the cell phone video that showed it, put Minneapolis as the pinnacle of police brutality and racial injustice and was followed by worldwide anger and violent protests for months on end. Minneapolis Mayor Frey is in a no-win position as he tries to protect the public against rioting while allowing protesters (freedom of speech) to vent their frustrations with centuries of racial injustice and police brutality. Joe Soucheray and I have one huge thing in common: We have no idea what it is like to be Black and presumed to be possibly dangerous by our white brothers and sisters. In Joe’s closing sentence berating Minneapolis’s mishandling of protests and lack of support of its police force, Joe asks God to help Minneapolis through the trial and down the resulting road. I would like to add a couple of beatitudes: Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled, and Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called children of God. Jim Brunzell Jr., Vadnais Heights