If your Facebook feeds weren't enough of a reminder that racism is alive and well in metro Detroit, this Guardian dispatch from St. Clair Shores has you covered.
The outlet went to the Macomb County suburb, where there are a lot of Trump supporters, to solicit thoughts about the nightly protests against police brutality going on in downtown Detroit.
This is what one guy who was actually willing to give his name had to say:
Jim Angel, a St Clair Shores retiree, suggested it was African Americans who were always behind police protests, though he ignored the long and unique history of black people in America, a land where they were once enslaved.
“This hasn’t had anything to do with the Irish, Polish and Germans – why is it only one ethnic group that needs change?” he asked.
Other reactions were more pro-police.
Several men who were part of a construction crew called the protests “stupid” and a “waste of time and energy.” Some even suggested Floyd was at fault for his death because he allegedly committed a crime, despite general worldwide outrage at the brutal manner of his killing and the criminal charges it has now brought against the officers involved.
Others, like Gloria Kinne, a St. Clair Shores business owner, acknowledged that racial discrimination exists “in isolated spots” and said she supported the right to peaceful protest, but she added that she was troubled by images of protesters clashing with police and vandalizing property.
“I’m really sorry to see the violence come into it,” Kinne said. “The people who are harmed are the small businesses and people who have nothing to do with it and no control over it. It’s been bad enough with Covid-19, but now they have their stores vandalized on top of that.”
