In spite of being an avowed pacifist, I find myself (like much of America and indeed the world these days) a spectator to violence. Some of it is fictional, as in the television show, Shameless, set on the Southside of Chicago. Some of it is all too real, as in the case of DeKayla Dansberry, a beautiful, promising athlete and young scholar (and a former student of my daughter in law) who was stabbed to death last week on the Southside of the real Chicago by a neighbor whose mother apparently provided the knife.
Looking for leadership, I am discouraged to see the frontrunner of the Republican Party, a narcissistic, sexist, racist bully, encourage his followers to engage their worst instincts. On my own side, (because these days, American politics have devolved into a sporting ritual, where everyone is on a side, even those who have made no choices) my chosen leader, Bernie Sanders, has delayed in calling out supporters who sometimes let their anger (and perhaps despair) turn them into bullies as well, particularly in Nevada.
In fiction, one of the reasons I watch violent shows like Shameless is because of the skill of its writers and actors in displaying the range of human qualities which are so easily lost in the name calling we all engage in. The poor people in Shameless are primarily white (with African American neighbors/lovers/children/friends) living on Chicago's Southside and struggling with alcohol and drug abuse, the marginal working life of many people these days (the middle class is shrinking not only in fiction but in reality) who don't have a college education or access to the jobs which used to provide a steady income in what elites like to call "the Rust Belt," and most significantly, the sense that they are falling behind and the reality of not having enough money, access or power to get ahead. At the same time, just as in real life, the characters in Shameless consistently showcase the deep bonds of family which keep them going even in the face of discrimination (against those with mental illness and poor people in general), teenage pregnancy, gentrification, and at times, their own bad decision making.
It is all too easy for people to dismiss DeKayla's murder as a product of race, class, and poverty rather than looking at the larger culture she was a part of; in spite of her, her family, and her teacher's best efforts. This culture, our culture, supports a media which has taken the mantra, "if it bleeds it leads," to a point where anyone who wants attention knows they will get more coverage with violence, whether by word or by deed. The skilled showman who has taken over the Republican party knows this-he even referenced it by noting how much his followers don't care about actual policy or plans-although he is now putting on a cloak of pretend policy and plans to provide cover for those who despise him but want power at any cost. As we mourn DeKayla, we need to also mourn our own flaws in becoming spectators to violent speech and action. It is time to turn away from the cell phone, the computer, and for my age group, the television, and take back our country from those who would make us all shameless.