Last night I went to the movie Fruitvale Station, based on the true story of Oscar Grant, who woke up one day and decided to change his life. Through a series of events and connections throughout that one day he ended up shot and killed by a police officer as a result of an escalated misunderstanding. His death was deemed a homicide. My favorite scene was when the BART subway train pulled out of a station, window upon window passing with the blurred silhouettes of so many heads--so many lives held there in that passing moment, heading off in a single direction but with multiple possibilities and futures. And then the train is gone and we're left with the echoed stillness of the station, wondering what is to become of things. It seems to me the heart of the movie was that scene--our lives unfolding, passing like a time chart, and though we each have our own destinations and dreams and fates we are always connected. We're in this together. I'm still trying to figure out how to process the injustice that occurred. And maybe there is no answer but awareness and compassion, a reminder to withhold judgment. Sometimes there is nothing we can do but to acknowledge and in this we give honor and help to prevent such injustice from happening again.
p.s. I'll be away from a computer for a few days as I'm taking the kids on a little vacation up to Minnesota to see friends, catch a Twins game, check out a museum, enjoy some beach time and whatever else we end up doing. I'll be back online Saturday.
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