I invited my friends to write love poems for Valentine’s Day. ‘Glorious love!’ I proclaimed.
But that was before police in Sydney knocked an old woman down so violently that it broke her spine in four places. It was before they held a young man on the ground and kidney-punched him over and over – which was caught on camera. It was before they forcibly dragged away a group of men who were sitting and praying; also caught on the news.
The police have assured the public these things did not actually happen.
The Police Minister told the Parliament, vehemently, that any future protest marches would be ‘antagonising the police.’ (Corollary: marchers will deserve any violence they receive.)
Only love can overcome hate, our great teachers have always told us. I believe them. But sometimes loving our enemies becomes difficult – our enemies who are supposed to be our protectors.
Yesterday I was still thinking, ‘Well at least we don’t live in America.’ But the sickness has spread.
We can barely believe what we are contemplating now on our TV screens.
I shut my eyes
those images remain –
I shut them harder
See also (and for back story):
Guardian cartoon by First Dog on the Moon:
Written for Friday Writings #214 at Poets and Storytellers United.
The more we see each day, the more we realize how little we know about how the world actually works... the entire inner working is redacted and every now and then one little thing is uncovered - by mistake. :( Sad, very sad indeed.
ReplyDeleteYes, sad. And yes, too sadly true. I don't know what can be done about it. Unfortunately, power corrupts etc. And in any case, those who seek power and wealth, and hence gain it, tend to be those who like having it and keeping it, and put it above other values. The altruists and humanitarians don't seek it and therefore don't have it to use for good.
DeleteSpine broken in four places! Unbelievable! A sad angry write, Rosemary. Let's keep writing. 👏
ReplyDeleteYes!
DeletePS, Shaun have you turned off commenting at your blog? I can't seem to find a place to do so.
DeleteYeah loving our enemies might be a bit much to ask especially with these kind of things That is so sad and makes you feel horrible but there are still many places were love can land I guess ❤️
ReplyDeleteThat;'s true, Marja. Thank you.
DeleteI weep for where our world is heading.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to be hopeful!
DeleteEach passing day seems to bring new and more horrible atrocities to light, Rosemary. It is a decadence into barbarity, dictatorship and unchecked violence. And it seems that apathy is growing and acceptance of all these horrible things is widespread amongst people that are becoming immune to whatever they see and hear... We must keep writing about what we see as wrong and as inhuman. Well penned!
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes, I think we must.
DeleteBrute force is heavily in the news. They say it has been this way throughout history and it never seems to go away. This past week, there was a tragic school shooting in Canada, reminiscent of the USA. But I have to believe that hearts could not be this broken if there were not also a great deal of love in the world.
ReplyDeleteOh, I do believe that. The trouble is, power seems to be in the hands of those with other values.
DeleteI was hoping it wasn't you! And figuring it was our Gestapo-like ICE police who give police a bad name. We have to hold on to love.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't me. My marching days are past; also I am not in a big city any more, anyway. No, it isn't your ICE police who give Aussie police a bad name; there are times when they do that quite well for themselves. And yes, we do have to hold on to love, however difficult in the moment.
DeleteFour places? What is a person with osteoporosis doing at a protest?! I hadn't even read about protests in Australia. Anyway I hope the woman recovers.
ReplyDeleteThe news media stopped covering our protests in order to go into a feeding frenzy about a missing woman. Most people seem to be saying, "If it were" or "When it was OUR missing relative, they hardly mentioned it." The good news is that the job of rounding up a short list of really undesirable immigrants, at least in Portland and Minneapolis, is done. People on both sides talked as if Trump wanted to deport everyone with brown eyes, and maybe he did, but realistically all he ordered ICE to go after were a few hundred known offenders. It's like the media don't want to celebrate that the cause of all those protests is over.
I hope yourall's "strife will not be long," either.
We are not used to it these days in this country, therefore she and the others assaulted would have had no reason to expect it in response to a peaceful protest. I suppose if police violence were usual, and if one did have osteo, one might be discouraged from exercising one's right ... oh wait, that was in fact the rationale behind the violence in this instance. It is both the level and the blatancy of it which has outraged Australia.
DeleteGreetings everyone! I went searching for a "love poem" and found one of the first poems I published!! I remember with trepidation hitting that "publish" button, and all these years later, still hitting it. Wishing all of you much love.
ReplyDeleteLovely, looking forward to reading.
DeleteWhen I started reading this I momentarily forgot you weren't in the US. I had no idea this was happening elsewhere too. Terrifying.
ReplyDeleteMy "love" poem isn't really, although I posted it because it does have the word "love" in it.
Our prompts are optional anyway; we're delighted to read whatever you choose to share.
DeleteYes, it is terrifying!
How vividly you convey the reality of this world. The image of shutting your eyes even harder to hope it goes away really hits home - Jae
ReplyDeleteAnd yet it doesn't go away. :(
DeleteYes, I do love my registered Antique Auto 1998 Ford Mustang Car. It is the only car I have. I also have the first three lines of a love poem but time squeezed it after I wrote my bedside written snow poem.
ReplyDeleteNo worries, I liked your Mustang poem!
Deleteread history.
ReplyDeleteI follow current affairs.
I listen to people’s predictions.
Do I see much difference?
Sadly, no.
There is little fairness
in this animal kingdom.
Those with
greater muscle,
sharper minds,
or ruthless flair
continue to exploit
the weak, the vulnerable, the frail.
Should it stop?
Absolutely.
Will it?
You tell me.
Quite so! Well expressed.
DeleteThe disease is not containable because it spreads from shadows of truth!
ReplyDeleteWe must each take the best care we can of our own mental hygiene!
DeleteI have been unaware of what is happening in Australia ~~~ so horrifically focused on what is happening in my country. What is to become of us, Rosemary? I wish I had brilliant answers, I do not. Your post describes the horror, legions need to read it.
ReplyDeleteWhat is to become of us? Indeed, who knows? Next question: what are we to do? Keep speaking up (or writing up) I guess; and keep on being as good and decent as we can in our own tiny lives, because it's worth doing – for our own sakes as much as anyone else's, and because it shifts the overall energy even if only a tiny bit. But we may meet repercussions: getting our backs broken, or being shot in the face ... and we are now living in a time where we must take that into account too.
DeleteBrutality everywhere. I hope your country is not following in the orange path of ours.
ReplyDeleteNot exactly, but swinging closer. I think maybe the whole world is going through that pendulum swing which we are told happens every so often. (Why couldn''t we have stayed in the sixties?)
Delete