World

Dear World,

What are you coming to?


I know: I sound like a crotchety old lady.

But seriously, it’s been one of those weeks where I’ve asked myself a number of times, “Why don’t we live on a rural hobby farm run by a small community of pacifists again?” I’m sure you ask yourself this same question regularly too. You’re in good company.

Anyway, back to the three ways I witnessed evidence that the world is falling apart and humanity as we know it is heading towards certain self-implosion:

1. Man shot. On our block. At 9p.m. on a Monday night. 40 yards from our front door. On the well-lit part of the block that I always opt for when walking home or to a neighbor’s around dusk because it’s “safer” than the not-so-well-lit other portion of the block. I guess I’ll find comfort in that fact that our neighbor’s historical block-activity informant told our neighbor who told Kyle who told me that it wasn’t gang related, it was an altercation between two gentlemen who knew each other and he was “only” shot in the leg – not any major life-sustaining organs. Thanks for the comfort, block-activity informant man.

2. A kid crying on the sidewalk. In broad daylight. Without shoes. Because her parents (I presume) were hurling F-bombs (among other threateningly colorful language) at her at the top of their lungs from halfway down the block. As cars whizzed by during rush hour. And she balled those hopelessly uncontrollable sobs which, for the record, are distinctly different than the I’m-throwing-a-tantrum-because-I-didn’t-get-what-I-wanted cries. This sucks. I don’t like that word and I don’t like this all too common situation. I never know what to do. Way to go, bully parents, you made a precious little girl cry.

3. Work. In domestic violence advocacy. SO thankful for this (temp) job. But it can be overwhelming. People are awful sometimes, and when you engage with this stuff 30 hours a week, it feels like there are more awfuls than goods. People are depraved, systems don’t work, and justice seems rare.

Ugh.

I know why a lot of people choose to isolate themselves from reality.  Denial seems fairly attractive at times like these.

~Julie