Black men.
Muslims.
Hispanics.
Immigrants.
LGBTQ.
Women.
Daughters.
I believe
I am inextricably in the midst.
Your pain is my pain.
Your hurt is my hurt.
We are all connected.
Our divide is so painful.
In that hellish June,
with young Black men killed,
with police officers killed,
he spoke angrily to me
about Blacks,
spewing diatribe gleaned from his only news channel,
and I quietly, respectfully, purposefully responded
"There is pain on all sides...so much hurt and suspicion."
And he charged back, bitterly,
"You are beyond hope, Maureen."
There was no sarcasm in his voice.
No laughter.
No joking.
This is a frustrated, hateful, angry old man,
disappointed in my open-mindedness,
dismayed by my civility,
disgusted by my politics,
done with me.
His daughter.
Yes, the diatribe is more satisfying.
To be of his one clear opinion is more satisfying.
To be alone is more satisfying.
The words echo
"You are beyond hope, Maureen."
I squeaked back, quietly, reminding
"I am of you."
and was met by silence.
After reading your today's post, I returned to see what else you have written. This piece reminded me of talking to my mom, age 83. "Why don't we just leave it alone. It is history. Why change the name of the HS?" And I explained how that person stood for slavery and how it slavery is wrong so we shouldn't be celebrating someone who was fighting for this. On the phone she said, "Oh..I'm glad I talked to you." You got me to wonder about my dad, no longer living. What would HE think. At 53, I feel the generational gap. My own children are even more liberal than I am. And it is me who is teaching my mom why. AND you are doing the same! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteYes, you can definitely relate! My dad is 88 - clearly, I'm not going to change him. Thanks for commenting! So happy you found my blog!
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