Renee Good. Alex Preti.
This time last year, I wondered who would be the first American citizen to be shot dead by the government. The question was not “if” but “when.” everytime.
And now we know.
I thought he was a soldier. However, the masked men arrived first. Because when you mix guns and protests, the guns inevitably go off. Those in power have always known that, wanted it, and wanted it to happen.
why? Because masked men and guns cause fear. That’s the point. Ask yourself when was the last time you saw a masked man and a gun on our streets or anywhere else. I always thought it was masked men with guns robbing banks. I was wrong.
Masked men are trying to rob us of our human dignity. We guarantee tranquility and contentment in our community. They are trying to take away our trust in our institutions and our trust in each other. And really they are trying to rob us of the happiness and joy that we all aspire to always find in life.
But the only collective ability we have as a nation to fight back is through our protests. peaceful protest. Just like Renee and Alex did.
But will there be peaceful protests? Because they are the perfect power to shame the vileness of those who believe that guns and force are the only true authority. Fortunately, our last hope and strongest ally is our Constitution, which gives us the power and right to protest.
How much calmer would it be to hear Lenny Goode’s last words, “I’m not mad at you, dude?” I may be angry at the system, the government, the power of the unknown people pulling the strings, but I’m not angry at you personally. “You.” Peace until the end.
But lost in the frantic pace of the worrying news cycle, as officials declare hasty doom and impromptu podcasters spout their spur-of-the-moment opinions, are two people who lost their lives.
We may have become accustomed to devouring their instant obituaries. The sum total of their lives declared in less than 10 seconds of cell phone video. They not only lost their lives; they lost all of their life. And now we see their deaths re-exposed, re-stirred, re-evaluated and re-consumed over and over again. In this endless repetition, we forget the meaning of life itself.
We must never forget that Renee and Alex believed in their community, in the purpose of their work, in love and happiness in life, and in the dignity and curiosity of life itself. They were unique individuals who did not deserve to die at the end of a gun barrel for any reason.
How fitting that Renee is a poet. When we are faced with the magnitude of loss in our lives, we sometimes turn to poems, psalms, hymns and lullabies to find a moment of solace in our shared grief and to remember Renee and Alex who have given us so much in our lives.
But for now, I can’t escape the reality of what was taken from them too soon, too violently, and too forever. They were extraordinary, brave and ordinary people. That’s why I have to remember them through poetry to explain the unexplainable to me and others.
I dream that such a thing will not happen.
I have this dream day and night.
Because none of this is true.
And none of this is correct.
I dream of these sons and daughters
Those who don’t go home anymore,
And they dream of their mothers and fathers.
A person who now has to stand alone.
I dream of all the flowers I’ll never have —
Kisses were never shared again and secrets never told.
I dream of a sunset that will never set for them,
I dream of all the love they gave me, but now they have to be forgotten.
I dream of all their dinners
To prevent the wine from spilling,
Or a book to read, or bread to break.
Or a baby being held.
Each still dreams of reaching
At midnight,
for those who need another hand
To stop the flight of nightmares.
I dream that they don’t dream,
I could never do it,
why can’t i dream
It will never happen.
I dream that such a thing will not happen.
I have this dream day and night.
Because none of this is true
And none of this is correct.
Carew Published She is the award-winning author of “The Legacy Letters” and encourages children to read through “I Love to Read” and the YouTube series “First-Ever Book Signing.”
The post How Renee Goode honors Alex Preti? Originally published in the Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News.
Source: Washington Blade: LGBTQ News, Politics, LGBTQ Rights, Gay News – www.washingtonblade.com
