Nashville’s Chief of Police, Steve Anderson, may be the voice of reason. According to the Tennessean:
Anderson [shared] a message to police officers and [answered] questions related to recent protests in Nashville and around the country.
What spurred Anderson’s department-wide message? A Nashville local decided to take it upon himself to inform the police chief of his displeasure regarding the department’s positive treatment of protesters:
Instead of at least threatening to arrest them, they were served coffee and hot chocolate. I don’t feel that is an appropriate use of taxpayer dollars. It sends a message that they can do whatever they want and will be rewarded. Then, this past week, more protesters march around downtown for 3 or more hours and once again, no arrests, and it took THP to keep them from getting on the interstate again. Saturday night, marching and “die ins” at Opry Mills mall. How long are we going to allow these people to disrupt our city?
In response, Anderson proved his humanity and the potential logic and kindness inherent in all people — despite what Twitter trolls on all sides might tell you:
It is only when we go outside that comfort zone, and subject ourselves to the discomfort of considering thoughts we don’t agree with, that we can make an informed judgment on any matter. We can still disagree and maintain our opinions, but we can now do so knowing that the issue has been given consideration from all four sides. Or, if we truly give fair consideration to all points of view, we may need to swallow our pride and amend our original thoughts.
And, it is only by giving consideration to the thoughts of all persons, even those that disagree with us, that we can have an understanding as to what constitutes a majority.
Both the unidentified citizen and Anderson’s message were published in full by the Tennessean, which retrieved the text from the city’s official website. Please read both if this TL;DR version isn’t enough for you. Meanwhile, I’m searching for apartment listings in Nashville. Any suggestions? (Do they have semi-decent public transit and music other than stuff about trucks and farms?)
Source: Tennessean via Gawker