You might know Shay as the gifted poetess, and all-around comical cut-up Fireblossom. I'm always entertained, often amused by her writing, but today, she's got something a bit more serious on her mind that I hope you'll take the 50 seconds it takes to watch the video she's posted. C'mon. You have 50 seconds, right? You could do it during a TV time-out. Sitting at a traffic light. On the StairMaster or waiting for the microwave for cryin' out loud.Why do I care? The violence doesn't end with the overt physical brutality of an obvious hate crime. It also slithers under the surface where two-faced friends who use the words "love" and "but" together stick a knife in the ribs that's invisible and formless but no less real, and even more evil for its deceit.
And it doesn't end with the one who's beaten up or killed either. The stain of violence against one individual never stops spreading. It impacts everyone who knew and loved the victim. And it spreads to those who know those who know those.
It's the worst kind of virus. And the saddest thing is that's 100% preventable.
I look at my brand new grandson and think, I want him to grow up in a world where it's okay for him to be who he is. Whoever that turns out to be. His father didn't, his grandfather surely didn't. And he probably won't. But maybe his son will. Or his grandson.
But first we have to give a damn.
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5 comments:
Beautifully said, Mojo. Thank you for linking.
xo
FB
Ain't she the best?
I went. I watched. I linked.
Thank you, Fireblossom and Mojo, for refusing to be silent.
I give a damn. Oh yes, I do.
Quite a post. A beautiful child whose very presence makes the world that bit better.
I am reading S.E. Hinton's That was Then, This is Now with my seventh graders. Mark bashes a kid in the nose for saying something obscene in front of Cathy. He justifies the action by saying that violence is not always physical. This passage in that incredible book speaks to what you are saying. What words can do.
I stood next to a close friend at the Gay Pride Parade in LA 27 years ago. A group of men, women and children passed, carrying signs that said "We love our gay and lesbian children, brothers and sisters!" I noticed that he was crying, and asked what was wrong. He said, "I would give anything to see my parents in that group. They haven't spoken to me for 15 years."
That was the day I began to give a damn.
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