“There’s simply more of them than us,” said Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, quoted in “George Floyd Updates: ‘Absolute Chaos’ in Minneapolis as Protests Grow Across U.S.” (NYT).
Gunshots rang out near a different police precinct and flames streamed from businesses over several city blocks — a gas station, a post office, a bank, a restaurant — as residents asked where the police and firefighters had gone.
Gunshots rang out… and flames streamed…. The NYT is writing as if human individuals are not in the picture even as the Governor is speaking specifically about people and calling attention to the us-versus-them situation.
The Times dare not insult the sensibilities of its core readers — and its writers.