Hope Amid Heartbreak
In the time since I interviewed Jason Sole for Ruthlessly Hopeful, a lot of pain and heartbreak happened. Two incidents struck me especially hard as they involved kids and happened in places where kids should be safe - a community rec center and school.
On Wednesday, January 18, a 16 year old boy was shot in the head during a fight at Oxford Community Center, which is right across the street from St. Paul Central High School. A 26 year old man is now charged with 2nd degree attempted murder and first degree assault. According to the family of the 16 year old, he has a very long recovery ahead of him. On Friday, February 10, a 15 year old boy was stabbed to death by a 16 year old boy during a fight at Harding High School. The 16 year old is in custody. The family of the boy who was killed was raising money for his burial.
I keep thinking how when you are 15, 16 and 26, you are supposed to have your whole life ahead of you. I also think of the parents of the young people involved, and the pain they are going through. In a video message sent after these tragic events, Superintendent Dr. Joe Gothard said it best, “We are not OK. Our kids are not OK.”
Hope is about doing, and a lot of people did and are doing big and small things in the wake of these tragedies. Parents from Central High School raised money to make sure teachers from each of the schools were given a really good lunch from a local restaurant. Teachers have a tough job and are on the front lines. As one of the parents responsible for organizing the lunches said, “Food is love.”
There are groups working to build relationships and keep the peace among young people at both schools, so there isn’t further violence. While other groups continue to work really hard to change systems and conditions so that kids and young people are too excited about their future to sacrifice it for a split-second bad decision in the present.
We need Abolitionists, and we need more of them, because they work hard to reduce the risk of violence happening in our communities. I forgot to include an important link in the Hope Is Spreading post, so I am correcting that omission. To make a tax deductible gift to the Institute of Aspiring Abolitionists, please click on this link, because it costs money to do what they do!
The conference swim meet for St. Paul Public Schools was scheduled for Saturday, February 11. Joe, Ellie and I were there, because Andy and Sam are on Central’s swim team. But the Harding swim team wasn’t there, so this meet turned into what I’ll call a practice run. A little over $1,200 was raised during it that was donated to Harding High School. The real conference meet took place on Thursday, February 16, and the Harding swim team was there. It felt really good to watch all of the teams compete and cheer them on.
I don’t consume as much news as I used to since my cancer diagnosis, because too much of it leaves me anxious, stressed and sad. But I recently saw a story that proves that when things are hard, if you’re able to show up, care and do what you can, hope and other good things happen.
