It’s surreal.
I walk the streets that were once so familiar –
my eyes burning from the smoke
as a it rises from the ashes.
A decades old skyline,
forever changed.
And what of the people on these streets?
These people watching their leadership fail them
as their community members are tear gassed,
pepper sprayed,
and gunned down.
You know, they call him a patriot.
this 17 year old boy with an AR15.
He thought he’d come to my city and protect businesses
he has no connection to,
his mother even drove him – gun and all.
He took two lives that night
on the streets that I call home.
One man bled out in the parking lot of a car lot,
another tried to stop him and died feet from his killer
in the middle of the street –
a third man maimed as his arm is practically shot off.
Why did this kid start shooting?
I’ll tell you –
He values property over life.
He fears people who don’t look like him.
And he believes law enforcement has supreme
authority.
So, how does my small town heal from this?
How do I heal from this?
We will never be the same,
I will never be the same.
Innocence is gone.
Reality is here and our true colors are shining as bright as the sun:
racism,
bias,
privilege.
and entitlement.
A white man’s world.
My community is overflowing with hatred and justification.
A criminal record deemed both reason to die,
and reason to shoot.
But I value life – so where do I fit in?
Why is my city burning, you ask?
Why are the racists out waving their flags?
What are civilian militia walking my streets
locked and loaded?
Why are the FBI. AFT. and every neighboring police force here patrolling the people … ?
Because a white police office couldn’t keep his cool –
and he shot a black man point blank, in the back, 7 times – in front of his 3, 5, and 8 year old children.
When will police brutality against black men stop???
#BlackLivesMatter
Photos of the destruction in my city on Tuesday 8/25/2020 –
Read this article for more information on the police shooting and the vents in the aftermath.
Please send love to Kenosha, WI – we really need it!! I can’t stop crying for the people of my city, I haven’t slept much, and I wonder when the unrest will end.
Shanon
Surviving Childhood Trauma
These times become more violent each passing day. I don’t know what the path forward is.
Oh my gosh, you live in Kenosha?
That’s really terrible, your photos are shocking! More violence just propagates the cycle. It must be so upsetting to see those scenes in person, and a fire engine destroyed is just especially sad.
You are surviving adulthood trauma too!
Oh man, that was a parking lot in 2 of the photos? I was thinking it was a car dealer type place. Jeez.
How are you Shanon?
I’m not okay, but I’m doing what I can to move through this. Unrest has calmed, but only because there’s military and unmarked federal cars all over my town.
The shooter has been charged but he’s in a different state, he was supposed to be extradited today but they pushed it out 30 days.
The cop hasn’t been charged.
The police blame the victims for being killed and my mayor supports the police.
All the while, my town is boarded up (it’s surreal) everything closes at like 5pm, and all the white people seem to think painting hearts, flowers, and peace on the wood covering their windows somehow fixes the systemic racism that has caused this.
I’m an emotional wreck 🥺
But yesterday I got a lot of stuff done at home and today I worked outside the house a little bit. Slowly reconnecting to myself.
Thank you for checking in on me 😊💜🙏🏻
This brought tears to my eyes…because you get it. You are seeing the world through God’s eyes. So few see the reality. Thank you for sharing your grief. Would it be okay if I share this with my church group? All I see is your first name to give you credit…is that okay?
I would love for you to share this if you think it will help. ❤️🌻🙏🏻 Thank you for understanding my grief. My city is small, there isn’t a part that isn’t familiar to me. This week of trade by runs deep. 🥺