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love in the face of intimidation
Today two of our kids were walking home from the corner store, and found themselves walking with a group of about seven neighborhood young people. One of the guys talked to them. It was fine, and friendly, for a while. Then, as our kids were splitting off to go home, it got tense.
The guy was talking about areas, maybe territory. He said that they should come with the group, and the kids said no, they were going home. Then the guy informed them that if they didn’t come, they wouldn’t be under his protection. Something might happen to them.
It’s not like I thought it would be easy. It’s one thing for me to know that, and another to feel it in my gut. I’m praying for guidance as we walk through this. Praying for the loving path to become clear.
Posted by Angela under stories
Friday, March 19, 2010
5 Comments
Wow the classic “protection racket” has trickled down to suburban midwest towns! We’ll pray!
Angela, what an upsetting and confusing incident for your whole family. When I think about issues like that, sometimes I go straight to the “it’s all about the safety of my kids, period” stance. But first of all, there is no such thing as guaranteed safety for our kids (as you well know), and secondly, if that was our only concern as parents, we would certainly choose to live in the safest cities and neighborhoods we could find. Clearly, that’s not your only concern, and not mine, either. I want my kids to understand more about the world, to interact with people who aren’t just like them, and to have opportunities to practice love and grace. Finding that balance—between safety and broader experiences—is really tough.
Thought about this a lot last night. Thought also a lot about the “four black kids that followed us by the elementary” who might have been the same ones that threatened Russel.
Really? I didn’t know we were followed. You kept that under your hat. :P
Today, was a day of prayer & meditation & arguing & discussing. Here’s where we are right now.
First, we don’t have answers. We’ve held an intention to be ok with not having answers, but sometimes we forget. So we didn’t come up with A Plan to Fix Everything. Neither a plan to move to a safe suburb, nor a plan to start a big project here.
Second, walking. More walking. I want to spend a lot more time outdoors. One way to do that is to walk with the kids when they want to go to the bus or the corner store. (Feeds two birds with one scone!)
Love you folks. Thanks for being here. It helps a lot to know we have friends when we get scared.