The Hangman Cometh
The world as a whole was seemingly thrown into a dimension of chaos and despair for the whole of 2020. A deadly disease gripped the world by its throat and viciously culled the population. My brother was taken from my by this disease and my soul hasn’t been fully functional since. A presidential election took place that was unlike any ever before and that’s all I’m going to say in the matter. But one thing came to a head like very few times before you the world. It’s people were completely fed up with racists and racism.
The world protested the racial injustices that have been taking place in the USA for centuries, and then the opposition protested this protest. People on both sides braved a pandemic to voice how they felt about racism or in their minds the lack thereof. But that isn’t What this post is about. The world began to settle as we shifted into 2021 it seemed. New leaders were put into office and a vaccine has started to go around for this deadly disease. We were in the process of rebuilding our torn down nation. But old habits die hard. Extremely hard to kill rather.
It may be hard to tell, but that is a picture of a string of Christmas lights that was tied into a noose and hung from a tree in a local park here in Augusta Georgia. I work a part time job cleaning up parks, it’s a quiet job we’re you meet copious amounts of friendly people. This past weekend while working several people who seemed quite upset went out of their way to find me to let me know that there was a noose hanging in a tree there. A hollow feeling grew within me. I was gripped with rage and fear as a black man. This job is one that you work alone so there is no one else to rely on or to help you if you need it. I felt isolated and worried for my own safety, then enraged again for my family. This is a park that I take my son to sometimes, but now I don’t Know if I ever will again. As I approached the noose in this somewhat open field I kept looking over my shoulder and reached towards my back pocket for my knife. It wasn’t there. I’ve stopped carrying it just because I don’t want it around my child. Unarmed. Worried. Alone.
I took the pictures and contacted my boss over the phone via text. He didn’t respond immediately. As I waited for him I took hold of the noose and started trying to untie it. As I worked this cold winter’s day my face started to sting with a new chill as tears started to race down my face. Tears of rage. Tears of fear. Tears of sadness. Tears for being reminded that someone hate my people’s existence. It took a while because some heinous being put an impressive not in the lights but I finally got it free and just left it hanging there. Finally my boss called me shocked at what the text said and sent a crew out to take the lights down.
I finished my shift in silence. I called my wife and told her about the incident and she was angered and sorry that I had to see it. This is still the same world it was before. It’s just a new year. I just want to know why does the hangman cometh for my people who just want to be equal? What are we still doing other than STILL adapting and surviving in a world not designed for us to survive in. Where do we go from here in this fight against racism? The fight has gotten so many allies, and many bigots are being exposed but what is the next step? As we take this next step, what can we do to be safe in the meantime? How do we stop this self elected hangmen from attacking us simply for existing?
This is the world in 2021. Still filled with rage and confusion. Still filled with racism, but also still filled with people fighting against it was well.
