To the editor,

I visited the memorial of Alex Pretti last week. I wanted to see it and feel it not as just another news story, but what it is, a sad and senseless killing of a fellow human being.

When I got there, there was a crowd surrounding an ever-increasing memorial of frozen flowers, protest signs, candles, and artwork. All was quiet as it should be. Many were crying for someone they never met. And crying for our country which has become almost unrecognizable from what it once was.

I spoke with a man from West Virginia who said he “just had to be here.” He had tried to spend the previous evening standing vigil, “but the cold was too much.” “This isn’t about Republican and Democrat,” he told me. “It’s about right and wrong.”

A woman in a walker with tennis balls on the legs was giving out free hugs. She had a sign strapped to her walker that read, “Antie Fa.”

It was a very cold day, but local restaurants along that stretch of Nicollet Avenue, known more commonly as Eat Street, welcomed people in to keep warm. A donut shop across the street, which was closed, managed to bring out some donuts and coffee.

It was comforting to be around people with a shared sense of loss. To grieve for someone or something that has slipped away. It’s the grief that helps us move on.

As I was about to leave, three young black men joined the solemn crowd. After several moments of quiet reflection, one of the men broke the silence and said, “We are not afraid.” Immediately the other men joined in singing the old protest song.

We are not afraid

We are not afraid

We are not afraid today…

Deep in my heart…

I do believe

We are not afraid today.

Wayne Agustin

River Falls