Last week I spoke to a person more than a thousand miles away from St. Louis. When she realized where I was from, she felt compelled, with great intensity, to tell me whose “side†she was on regarding Ferguson. As I listened, it became clear that she was not telling me the side that she was on, but rather the side that she understood.
Similarly, many people in our community have announced, with great fervor, their position on the Michael Brown shooting. Unfortunately for our community, it is typically not difficult to predict one’s “side.†The repercussions of Michael Brown and Officer Wilson will be with our community for years to come if we continue to allow only our current understanding to determine our “side.†Without a deeper understanding, our community will not improve and will, most assuredly, take a turn for the worse.
Let’s view the upcoming days as an opportunity, an opportunity to bring our community together in a way it has never come together before.
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If you are not angered by Michael Brown’s death, find someone who is … not to argue but to understand. If you are not afraid of what happens in the days after the grand jury’s decision, find someone who is … again not to argue but to understand.
If you cannot understand why someone would protest or even destroy property, find someone who does understand and listen to them. Do not allow comfort to set your limit in seeking understanding. Comfort alone provides insufficient energy to reach understanding. Strive to be uncomfortable in your journey.
Even though understanding may not ultimately result in agreement, the truth remains that it is only through a deeper understanding that things will get better.
Our community’s response to the events of that fateful Saturday in August is not a reaction to the events of that day alone. Fundamentally, it is a response to years and decades of a lack of understanding. It is too convenient to blame this response on outside agitation alone. “Outside agitation†is a phrase penned by the likes of Bull Connor as he fire-hosed Birmingham protesters and Gov. George Wallace as he stood in front of the schoolhouse door.
We are so much better than that. This is our issue and we must own it. It is now our choice … become uncomfortable to make things better or remain comfortable with status quo.
Steve Sullivan is executive director of Provident.
