My dear friends and neighbors of Edmonds and Lynnwood:
My husband and I live on the boundary of Lynnwood and Edmonds. We belong to both of these wonderful communities. We love where we live. We are privileged. We are nourished in our Christian faith at Trinity Lutheran Church.
Two weeks ago, I woke up and found on our front lawn the Styrofoam packaging of a new Weston revolver, the congratulatory letter from Weston and the directions booklet on how to use the revolver. On our front lawn is a sign that shares our beliefs that all people and our earth are valued and important.
First, I felt violated, threatened, and fearful for my family. This transformed to anger that my home had been desecrated with hate. Then, I felt grief and sadness that we are a deeply divided nation. Over time this became a longing for a real national dialogue where we all share our fears and hopes … our real fears and hopes. And a hope that through this dialogue with each other, we seek kindness, mercy and understanding.
Sunday, Oct. 4 is the feast of St. Francis. His prayer is what I hope for all of us.
The Prayer of St. Francis
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace,
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy;
O Divine Master,
Grant that I may not so much seek
To be consoled as to console;
To be understood as to understand;
To be loved as to love.
For it is in giving that we receive;
It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;
And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.
— By Maureen McKenzie
Maureen – we are in the same neighborhood. I am so disgusted by this sad posturing by whomever decided to try to intimidate your family. Standing with you in solidarity.
This act of intimidation is a clear threat that speaks to the insecurity and fear that is reigning in neighbors who are terrified of all human beings dignified. This is a racist act of hate. This act communicates that the person is afraid of sharing power with people who look or love differently than them. That is incredibly sad. Clearly we have some folks in our community who want to go back to the Civil War and reverse the course of history. To you neighbor, I say, fear not. All humans are made to cultivate life and love. Let us uplift one another and apologize for the way we have participated in harming each other. There is nothing to fear. In solidarity, Jennifer McLaughlin
This is a cowardly act, and as Heather Damron says, sad posturing. But with all due respect, Jennifer, there are 8 different statements on the yard sign, only one relating to race. I see no indication the gun-packaging was left as a racist act, versus sexist, anti-science, anti-conservation, intolerant of religion, or just anti-love/kindness. My guess is, the person leaving the packaging there is against just about all of those things. But that’s only a guess. Without the dialogue Ms. McKenzie seeks, we do not know.
Maureen, I am so sorry to hear such a hideous thing happened at your front lawn. What you post is the Universal Truth that no darkness & no nastiness & no intimidation can take away! I salute your genuine faith & great courage to be so caring & loving by posting the sign to stand up & speak up for love, respect, and honoring human rights for everyone! May God protect & bless you & your family & your Faith community. I thank you deeply! Our town is made better by good people like You!!
It may just be trash left behind with no ill will intended.
Trash (cowardly trash) left the trash then.
Janene, Hissssss. You’re supposed assume the worst possible thing.
I, and another person, erased writing on Claire’s Diner and Edward Jones Investments that said “Assasinate Trump and Barr”. I was half-inclined to call the Secret Service, but I realized that derangement in that direction is tolerable, and hate through interpolation in the other direction is standard practice.
My first inclination would be to put this trash in the garbage, where it belongs, and say nothing. Just like the guy who wrote the hate message in the sand on the beach, people who do things like this crave the attention it provokes. They get satisfaction that they “own the libs,” or however they phrase it. Better to just not fulfill their wishes
The message appears to be intended to invoke fear, which is one of the most negative of emotions, and can be very destructive, but is there for a reason. I would be extremely concerned, regardless, and exercise caution, because unfortunately there are some extremely biased people in the local community which I, coming from an extremely diverse family have experienced first hand and have myself been a victim of at the very least comments and at the worst threats. There are people who instead of growing spiritually, have closed themselves off due to their personal fears, thus the case that you saw.
My guess is it may have been stolen and the perp threw the packaging on your lawn. That is some old packaging there and it is all broken up like it was garbage. Sometimes overthinking things is not helpful.
Those who do not acknowledge that this was an intentional act of hate diminish the impact it has on the intended victims. Of course it was intentional. Of course the person who did this wanted to send a message of intimidation. As others have noted, this is an act of hatred and it is both disgusting and sad. Personally I have loved seeing these signs of hope and love spring up in yards throughout Edmonds. I want to live in a community that thrives on inclusiveness – not racism, bigotry, xenophobia and homophobia. I too stand in solidarity with you Maureen and I believe that the majority of Edmonds residents feel the same. Love ALWAYS trumps hate.
One of the great “Republicans” of all time, Theodore Roosevelt (a champion of what would now be considered liberal causes like land conservation and protection of national parks and limits on corporate powers) said, “speak softly and carry a big stick.” That was said in relation to national affairs of course.
I think those of us who think like and agree with this reader need to adopt the same stance as “Republican” Pres. T. R. in relation to our current national dialog. I try to think reasonably and speak softly, but I also keep a loaded gun by my bedside. I’m a liberal who believes in the 2nd. amendment (up to a point). We are better with the amendment than without it. Threats of violence always have to be met with threats of self defense or you end up with bullies and power freaks in charge of everything.
I also think non-violent protest is the most powerful form of social change there is on earth. Violence should always be a last resort to try to save the life of a person or their loved ones. We are way too quick to turn to violence in this nation, on both the Right and the Left. Ghandi defeated the British Empire with mostly non-violent protest.
Long live the Spirit of St Francis who loves & honors all human beings, all creatures small & big, and Mother Earth. We need love, respect, & mutual care & honoring more than ever in our divided nation. We need to be united to care for each other, for the Common Good. It starts from home in our neighborhoods & local community!