What if…

No one enjoys a good yell, foot-stomping, and protest against injustice more than we do. No one. But this evening we received a message with people around the world joining to perform John Lennon’s “Imagine.” We began to wonder as the tears rolled at the beauty of such a dream and we wondered–what if?

What if all protesters marched in silence? What if we all carried signs for “Black Lives Matter” with “Imagine” playing in the background–never saying a word? What if the people of Portland stood silent, with signs protesting, simply standing between the protesters and the hired mercenaries? Can you IMAGINE what that would look like on film? Written about by journalists? No words, only the aggression of the federal mercenaries? Would make it kind of hard to justify the unnamed “police” being there, wouldn’t it?

Martin Luther King, Jr. and John Lewis advocated peaceful demonstrations. They both changed the USA admirably. They inspired their followers, gave personkind a reason to work towards bettering humanity, a sense of love for all people. It was appalling to see the protesters fire-hosed, beaten, attacked and the world noticed. The protesters had done nothing to provoke the cops and haters. See? And it outraged the complacent, stirred the compassionate, and change came. Granted not near enough change, but a step forward instead of back.

So what if? What if we gave them no fuel for their fires of hate? Nothing they could point to as justification for their aggressive actions, the tear gas, the beating, the HATE? Others in other countries have tried it against authoritarian regimes, injustice and hate. What if we did? How could they explain or spin their actions against our people? If we are silent, let our signs speak, merely stand our ground–how are we provoking them?

We cry for our people, for Black Lives Matter, for the oppression of all who are on the fringes and struggling to simply survive both a pandemic and use of force against them as rights are trampled and spit upon. Our heart breaks over and over as do the hearts of those in our nation who are having their voices quelled, fear as deadly as tear gas overwhelming them.

We will simply stand. Quiet with our sign. Not moving. We will silently let the federal gestapo show itself for what it is–unAmerican and unconstitutional. We will not be baited. With those in the federal halls trying to quiet us, we will rise silently so that they yell louder and louder. They show themselves for what they are. Give a fool enough rope and he will hang himself. Let them do the work of destroying themselves so we can survive and go on.

That’s what we think.