From the essay: “In the immediate aftermath of the storm, Houstonians pulled together like never before, performing daring boat rescues, hosting strangers in their homes and helping their neighbors rip out soggy drywall. But even before the water receded, signs of Houston’s congenital pathologies began to surface.”
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From the archives
The ‘Police Riot’
A deeply divided country, a polarizing president, a national conversation about police violence, and a media circus broadcasting it all: These words describe 1968 as well as they do 2018. Fifty years ago, thousands of antiwar protesters clashed with Chicago police during the Democratic National Convention, and the Observer's Kaye Northcott was there watching.
From the story: “Equally disturbing is the fact that the majority of the American public, after seeing instances of police brutality on television, still insist that the police were justified in their handling of the ‘hippies.’ There seems to be an assumption on the part of the police and the public that young people with long hair, or beards or in unconventional clothing are less equal other citizens. It’s all right for them to be beaten up. Such an attitude is unworthy of a free society.”
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