I spent about six hours yesterday refreshing Facebook and news sites while frantically waving my phone in the air because I hadn't heard from a friend in Boston and I prayed it was just because I didn't have good cell reception. When she finally texted me to say she'd been out of town, I stood up and announced, "Good news! None of my friends are dead." Sometimes, comedy is less a defense mechanism than a crutch, one that scared people lean on when they don't know what else to do.
Patton Oswalt, one of America's funniest people, is stronger than comedy. Yesterday he posted this Facebook status which quickly went viral:
Yes it's long. Yes he swears. Yes you still need to read it.
(source)
"The good outnumber you, and we always will." Though politicians swear revenge and the media spreads terror to boost their ratings, this is the one thing that has brought me actual comfort. It's true and strong and that's far more than I can say about most of what is being said.
After seeing so many terrible things in the past few years, I didn't know I could still get as scared as I was yesterday. This was the first time a national tragedy affected me personally. Unlike New York in 2001, or Virginia Tech in 2007, or Newtown in 2012, many people close to me live in Boston and were in danger. Every photo of the explosion brought back another memory. There's the bench Carlos and I both fell asleep on. There's the library where I picked up Katie before our date at JP Licks. There's where I'd get on the 39 bus after cursing the E line for never showing up on time.
This rare photograph captures the E line in the wild, where it has not been seen since 1995.
(source)
But I was scared. So scared that I made a joke about it. Maybe you've experienced this kind of fear already, from Aurora or Baghdad or Oslo or any of the other places the human species has bent against itself to do terrible harm these past few years. Maybe, despite all the best efforts of the people who try to stop these messes, you'll experience it another time. Today and in the future, I hope you remember Patton's words and do not become cynical like I was yesterday. I hope you see the power that lies within us to respond with comfort and kindness even in the middle of horror. I hope you are brave and good.
(source)
Comments
Post a Comment