Monday, May 21, 2018

All too much


I don't have the heart to write in any depth about the Pakistani exchange student who was among those gunned down in Santa Fe, Texas last week, or the teacher who went back to work to help pay for her husband's cancer treatments, who lost her life in the hail of bullets, too. Or the girl who tried to tell the shooter for four months that she wasn't interested, who was the first one he came for when he walked into that art classroom with murderous intent. They need to arrest that boy's father, whose guns were so unsecured that his son could just take them to do violence on an otherwise ordinary morning. More American children have died in school shootings this year than soldiers have died in theaters of war. I'm worn out from bearing witness to the relentless wheel of atrocities unleashed by white boys with Nazi leanings. I'm drowning in all the stories of black folks who find cops descending on them for just living their lives. The latest is a black man who was out for a walk with his son in the park. Apparently someone reported "a suspicious looking man with a baby." He's a lawyer who stayed home from work because his baby wasn't feeling well and thought a walk in the park might be cheering. I saw his picture. Dark skin, sweet smile, cute cafe au lait baby. Nothing suspicious at all. Fortunately, the park security guard saw nothing amiss either and merely warned the father about the unwarranted complaint. I need a fucking break.

9 comments:

  1. All the news lately is so disheartening. The world is becoming the opposite of my dreams. I thought something else much more enlightened was possible. I'm beginning to think I was wrong, so very wrong. I need a break too.

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  2. I feel like I'm in a vortex I cannot find my way out of for anything. I keep thinking what am I seeing so clearly that others I know don't or at least aren't preoccupied by it the way I am. The presence of the abomination in the White House has magnified all the injustices I see and feel for others. Sometimes I feel I just can't look any more but then feel I'm deserting those suffering by not looking back again. I read your words because you and your family "come back" repeatedly to witness and for moments I'm shown there are still beautifully decent people in this world. Thank you.

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  3. We all need a break. In another country, preferably.
    Every day is one horrible WTF after another.

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  4. Remember Mr. Rogers . . . "look for the helpers" . . .

    It makes a difference.

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  5. Hi, I do think this is a great site. I stumbledupon it ;)I may
    return yet again since i have saved as a favorite it.
    Money and freedom iis the greatest way to change, may you be rich and continue to guide other people.

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  6. I could not agree more, on all counts. I keep wondering how people go so wrong. And not just shooters, but Rage Lawyer and all people who are contemptuous, if not outright murderous, toward others.

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  7. I had not read about the father walking his baby and had to google it to see if he made it out alive. I was happy to see that he did.

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  8. I very nearly had a permanent break, now, I am cautious about how much horror I can handle. must keep head above water- others depend on us. Keep your heart from breaking utterly!! LOVE

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  9. May we all take the breaks we need. Many someones are always just coming back from a break. Together we've got it covered, impossible as that may seem.

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