I didn't know much of anything of John Lewis as I grew up, and have been happy to be educated these past few days. The Lewis family is encouraging "well-wishers to tie a blue or purple ribbon on their front doors or in their front yards to commemorate his life (and signal that your household is part of the streaming community)". (Parentheses mine, as I don't think we fit the "streaming" part. The Loud is on Facebook, so he might.)
Regardless, this is flying 7' up on the lamppost outside our house:
For years now, I've been listening to horrible news of men and women being mistreated or prejudged in public settings, and I think about and wonder how I would've acted had I been in the same park, same Starbucks, same place with these people? How could I react? How would I intervene? How would I engage the rest of the (non-harassed) people? My musings were mental dry runs for if something happened, but it wasn't until this week that my possible intentions, if they ever came to be, had the necessary words of focus: Get In The Way.
Thank you, Congressman John Lewis. You have forever, posthumously, changed my life.
I knew his name but I wasn't aware of all that he had done -- but I know more now, and his courage and passion make an extraordinary legacy.
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