Listen. What do you hear? What are the unheard saying
in their actions, in their words?
If they say,
'We are hurting but no one hears us,'
shall we ignore the hurt?
Shall we then say only, 'Look
at all the pain you've caused,' and turn away
because it's easier to acknowledge
the glass, the stone, than it is to know
that the peace they've just broken
was broken to begin with?
That we didn't hear it break
the first time?
---
In remembrance of the wise, nuanced stance which MLK took regarding his condemnation of riots - and his equal condemnation of the unjust conditions in society which go ignored until, it seems, nothing short of a riot will allow the rest of that society to take notice.
Recommended reading for today: "Christians, MLK Day, and Historical Amnesia"
