i saw a piece of graffiti on the boarded windows of a store today. It read, “I’ll stop breaking your windows when you stop hurting my friends.” i’m not posting the statement to stimulate debate on the statement itself. That debate doesn’t solve the problem. i’m posting it as an example of the turmoil all of us are walking through right now. Unless you live under a rock at the top of the highest mountain in the middle of the most isolated island, you are dealing with the implications of this upheaval.
You may be on the front lines risking your life as a first responder. You may be one of the peaceful demonstrators that are seeking change. You may be one of those who has been on the receiving end of unjustifiable violence against your person or your property. You may be one of those who, like the author of the graffiti, is on the “giving” side of that violence. You may be one who is asking when things will calm back down so we can return to the way things were. You may be one who is responding that we will never go back to the way things were, because we can’t go back there.
We’re struggling with where our identity comes from in the midst of one of the most divided times in history….