Monday, November 24, 2014

A special kind of dis-ease

The verdict from the grand jury was announced this evening. It was bad. Not as many people committing violence, but the few people that were violent were - and are - very violent indeed. Seeing the businesses burning, the unrest, the looting, the senseless violence in Ferguson is heartbreaking.

It's confusing as well. There is no black or white in this situation, no right answer when you ask the wrong question. What was decided was just based on the laws of our country; but the circumstances that created the situation to which the law was applied were not.

Rushing around after being evacuated from my work building (which is about a mile from where the "action" is occurring) to get my children, whose schools were closing early, made me feel sick, uneasy. The school across the street from my daughter's had closed because someone called in a bomb threat. The public school my son attends was closing early as well because of similar threats.

What good does burning a building do? Watching someone else's life go up in flames? Forcing local schools, government offices and businesses to close? I hope this is an opportunity to talk, and not an opportunity for a small, violent few to take away chances and choices from people who so desperately need them.

In short: this blows.

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