asj
Jul 19, 20151 min
I am the politest person. My kids know I love etiquette (including fully ridiculous stuff like where forks go).
But sometimes grief makes people uncomfortable. And I think it's wrong to not listen to people in deep pain.
Today, Patrisse said to a crowd, "If I die in police custody, call my mother first." How could I not think about making that call and cry with her? What else does compassion mean but to suffer with? (Christians, we recognize Jesus' uncomfortable habit of suffering with outcasts.)
If we don't have 15 minutes to listen to people exercising their 1st amendment rights and speaking for murdered members of their communities, what kind of democracy do we have?
I do expect Presidential candidates to be able to go off script and speak to people's grief. I do expect them to recognize their privilege in having so much network tv time and cede a few minutes.
As for me, I won't be afraid of people speaking of their grief.