I’ve been struggling with how to do this; how to tell you about the past week, what happened, and what I saw. I decided that there are too many photos, too many stories to share in one blog post. So, I going to make a few posts about it. But before we get started, I think we need to address a few things about what this is and isn’t and what I am …and am not….
I’m not a journalist. I have no training as a journalist. I don’t regard my photography or what I’m going to write in these blogs as journalism. I am an academically trained Theologian and a professionally trained pastor. It’s important we both understand that because I don’t claim that this post is going to be fair and balanced. I’m not trying to offer equal weighting to all sides of the story or making sure everyone’s views are represented objectively. I am trying to share with you a certain perspective - my perspective - of what I saw and experienced and that perspective will almost always be viewed through the lens of my faith, my vocation, and my inner convictions. That is a distinctly different point of view than a journalist and has distinctly different goals than a work of journalism. However, while I am a pastor and while I am a Christian of deep faith who is sinfully proud of both my denominational affiliation and the particular church that I serve, I’m not writing to you as a pastor right now. I’m writing to you as Quincy, the person. What I’m writing and saying in these posts are in no way a representation or the views of The Presbyterian Church (USA) or the congregation I serve. They are solely my own and I own them and take responsibility for them.
The best tattoo award goes to this guy…. An officer helping to secure a permitter during peaceful protests Saturday afternoon
A young man peacefully protesting Saturday afternoon
All that being said, I didn’t go and I don’t write this to score points or tally them to figure out which “side” is “right” - I wouldn’t begin to know how to score that. I’m not interested in proving my views over yours. Because I’m writing this as a person - a human being - who believes deeply that the secret to knowing God rests in knowing yourself and other people, that to know Christ, we must not only know but love our neighbors, I am interested in the human element of this story. I can tell you that I cried with protestors who had moments of being totally overcome with grief and the weight of the moment. I prayed with Police officers who were tired, beaten up, and frustrated that the hard work they put in to building relationships with the people they serve also died as another police officer squashed the life out of George Floyd. I saw them all as people; people struggling; people confronting the brokenness of this world; people in need of a pastor - maybe a pastor like me….
You can choose to agree with me or not. You can choose to agree with my approach or not. You can choose to agree with what I did or not. That choice is yours. But, no matter where we stand on any particular issue or in any particular party,I hope that we can all agree that both the killing of George Floyd and the senseless looting and destruction of property are wrong. Acts of violence should be condemned and I condemn them outright. But until we can look across the side of protest line and see that it’s another human being looking back at us, we will never open a meaningful dialogue that doesn’t dehumanize another person into a broad stereotype like “thug protestor” or “crooked cop.” What I’ve learned is that the situation on the ground, in the midst of the chaos, is far more nuanced than a binary choice. So, I offer you my perspective as I seek to understand, as I seek to find the humanity in other precious children of God, and as I seek to find my own humanity amidst the fear, the chaos, and the hope of the world in which we live….
Protestors sitting in front of a Police line during relatively peaceful demonstrations Saturday afternoon in Chicago.