It’s Easter and April Fools Day and it was so cold, we still have to wear winter coats and mittens, and last night, a 61-year-old woman was hit by a sheriff’s truck in Sacramento during a vigil-turned-protest for Stephon Clark, who was an unarmed black man shot 8 times by police. I try sometimes to avoid the heavy news, or at least I try to avoid the details that drain my spirit, but I watched the video this time. She was hit by a sheriff for no reason. She was getting out of the way.

The sheriff’s office said that the trucks were being attacked by the protesters, but that was not at all evident on the video. What was evident was the truck speeding up and hitting this woman, sending her to the ground and sending the people around screaming and scrambling to help her. Thank God she was only hurt slightly and released from the hospital the same day.

We have a real culture problem in our law enforcement communities. We need to change our laws regarding use of lethal force. “I felt threatened” isn’t acceptable; the threat should have to be legitimate and real. We need to disarm the police where we can and reconsider the way the police handle protests. Nothing I’m saying here is new, or especially insightful, I know. But I just needed to put my thoughts into words, even though they aren’t necessarily new thoughts.

The world feels really heavy. I am not sure how to handle it. I want to be useful and improve it, but I don’t always know how. Just going to go to school tomorrow and teach and do my best.