I wish I had something profound or insightful or even uplifting to say about the horror of the last week, but I don't.
In Minnesota, gun violence did not end with the shooting of Philando Castile or news of the cop massacre in Dallas. Nope. It went on and on and one of the latest victims was a 2 year old in the back of a minivan. A gun battle between the minivan and another car resulted in that child's death
If there is a brief yet positive note, we've not heard from the NRA all week.
During the demonstrations here in the Twin Cities, there was violence. People from overpasses threw rocks and firecrackers at the cops. I thought of Tommy the Traveler, that provocateur of the 60s who came to demonstrations with an eye to turn them into riots. It's easy enough to do in a crowd. Friends who were there said they didn't know where the rocks came from; their position for Saturday night was non-violent, passive resistance. That position is reinforced by videos from the early stages of the march. The antagonism was not there. The fastest way to destroy a peaceful demonstrations and turn it into something sinister is to allow violence to occur. Where did it come from?
We stand together at the edge of a chasm. We can bemoan our inability to cross over, or we can pull together to make a bridge. This is a choice.
If you are interested in how to make the bridge, there are resources out there. Here are a couple of found particularly helpful:
In Minnesota, gun violence did not end with the shooting of Philando Castile or news of the cop massacre in Dallas. Nope. It went on and on and one of the latest victims was a 2 year old in the back of a minivan. A gun battle between the minivan and another car resulted in that child's death
If there is a brief yet positive note, we've not heard from the NRA all week.
During the demonstrations here in the Twin Cities, there was violence. People from overpasses threw rocks and firecrackers at the cops. I thought of Tommy the Traveler, that provocateur of the 60s who came to demonstrations with an eye to turn them into riots. It's easy enough to do in a crowd. Friends who were there said they didn't know where the rocks came from; their position for Saturday night was non-violent, passive resistance. That position is reinforced by videos from the early stages of the march. The antagonism was not there. The fastest way to destroy a peaceful demonstrations and turn it into something sinister is to allow violence to occur. Where did it come from?
We stand together at the edge of a chasm. We can bemoan our inability to cross over, or we can pull together to make a bridge. This is a choice.
If you are interested in how to make the bridge, there are resources out there. Here are a couple of found particularly helpful:
- 30+ Resources to Help White Americans Learn About Race and Racism
- Advice for White Folks in the Wake of the Police Murder of a Black Person
- Are you Racist?
I may not agree with everything said in those links, but all three are thought-provoking and definitely worth a read.
In the end, I have nothing profound to add. I am sad, I am angry. And I have no idea what to do about it. Everything I once believed about progress in this country is turning out to be nonsense. The more I read, the more I realize silence cannot be an option, but I have no voice, no standing in this fight. The best one can hope for is to stand in the crowd and attempt to be present.
If you're white, admit you're not exactly having the hoodie talk with your sons. Admit that being of color does make a difference in how your kids are treated. Stop pretending it can't happen to your kid.
There is no easy fix to this mess. No one has a an end-plan or can even tell you what they want the end to look like. All anyone can say right now is that there is a need for justice in the community, in the county, in this country.
Maybe that's the secret right there. Be present. Be aware. Change the world beginning with your own.
The Wifely Person's Tip o'the Week
Getting an ISBN number for your new novel makes you feel like the Velveteen Rabbit.
Suddenly, you are real.
This is a hard issue to comprehend for many white people. That doesn't mean those people are bad or racist, they have just lived different lives from that of people of color. I become frustrated when I listen to pundits saying some white people don't want to hear the POTUS saying black people are treated poorly or at a disadvantage, just because those white people are also struggling. Yes, people all over and of every color are struggling. We need everyone to recognize that fact and that if a black person and a white person are in the same situation, many times the black person will be worse off because of the pervasive racism throughout our society. Unfortunately, getting many to recognize that fact may be as difficult as getting those same people to recognize climate change. Regardless of the deniers, we need to all be engaged in an active conversation. If we don't talk about it and thus admit that it's real (or at least discuss the possibility), change will never come.
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