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  2020-06-02

  COVOD19

  This is a video I recorded from my balcony across the street from UNLV’s campus. This media is pretty significant to me. My 7 year old sister was in town and we were in the peak of quarantine. Majority of the city was still closed and riots had just begun. My sister being oblivious to everything going on the only thing she understood is we can’t go outside. One night we were sitting in my living room and my sister goes out on the balcony. She calls me out there and all I hear is loud chants down Maryland parkway and the street I resided on. Nothing violent was happening just a ton of people chanting. All of a sudden a brigade of police officers comes racing down our street and streets surrounding to box in this crowd of people. Big trucks with armed and guarded men screeching for people to “back up!” My sister kept asking why the police were here and who was in trouble. I didn’t really know how to answer because “ I don’t know” and “no ones in trouble” wouldn’t really explain what was going on. That was the truth though. Nothing had happened. A group of people were peacefully exercising their American rights and getting in trouble for it. I didn’t know why the police had arrived. No trouble had been caused. It seemed like everyone was in trouble but I wasn’t sure why and I definitely didn’t know how to break that down to a kid. Once I pulled my phone out to record she seem to draw her own conclusion from the situation. She ran up to my boyfriend and said “the police are outside being mean to people.” I knew then if my incredibly sheltered 7 year old sister could watch a scenario unfold and draw that conclusion without any media persuasion or even family persuasion that the adults who say otherwise blatantly choose to ignore.. and say otherwise.