“What are you turning toward because it aligns more strongly with your values and hopes for our future?”
– Joanna Macy and Chris Johnstone in Active Hope
Tomorrow night is the introduction of the ceasefire resolution at Hartford City Council, and three minutes is not nearly enough time to make a case for anything at public comment unless all of our elected politicians are deeply listening.
The image at the top of this post is part of the Black Lives Mural on Trinity Street in Bushnell Park — a ten minute walk from City Hall. Given its location within one of the city’s public parks, it’s safe to say that this a City of Hartford endorsed message: “PUT DOWN THE GUNS.”
What could be objectionable about that?
In a recent op-ed that I sent to The Hartford News, I dug into this idea a bit more.
When someone commits a violent crime in Hartford, there are ways that we — both City of Hartford government and city of Hartford community — respond. There is no single answer, and while the street violence problem has not been fully resolved, we have seen a major reduction in violent crime. There are organizations that show up at the hospital when there’s a shooting, hoping to intervene in a powerful and vulnerable moment. There’s a space when someone could begin to turn toward better choices, an actual future. There are gun buybacks programs that help make weapons less accessible. There are groups that hold prayer vigils, which say, if nothing else, that a person’s loss has not gone unnoticed. There are organizations working on a myriad of other issues like improving job availability and access for residents, expanding educational offerings, dealing with housing . . . all of these things that might not seem connected to violence until you start scratching the surface. Contrary to what some might claim, many have been engaged in this hard and unglamorous work for years. The great thing is that this work does not only benefit the folks who might have picked up guns and blades. Jobs, housing, public transportation — these benefit all residents, regardless of temperament.
That’s a little of what Hartford does.
Here’s what Hartford — government and community — does not do when there’s a shooting. We don’t, as a society, seek revenge. We don’t aim rockets at homes where the perpetrator(s) may live or visit; we don’t aim rockets at schools, libraries, museums, or hospitals in his neighborhood, or the one next door, or the one in the next town. We don’t take everyone potentially affiliated with the perpetrator and tell them to move, then move again, and then cut off their food supply. We don’t do this because it is irrational. It is cruel. This behavior punishes people who had nothing at all to do with the crime. You tell me that you have any control over what your second cousin does, what your sister’s ex-boyfriend does, what your own adult child does. You don’t. Nobody does. Collective punishment does not work. What it does is increase animosity and ensure an ongoing volley of violence. It creates a new generation of people with trauma and anger. We don’t respond to violence this way in Hartford because we have a culture of care.
I look at the mural on Trinity Street, and at ones elsewhere in the city with similar messages calling for peace. We may not inhabit this entirely yet, but it is aspirational. We are aiming to do better, to be better. We have collectively said that there are behaviors we do not accept. If someone murders another in retaliation, the perpetrator is arrested. We don’t supply them with the gun and the bullets.
It is not so hard to understand, especially if you shut off the fire hose of propaganda for a minute and truly listen.
The Resolution Calling For An Immediate De-Escalation And Permanent Ceasefire In Israel And Palestine is solid. It’s kind. It costs us nothing and it aligns with our community values: “human life, dignity, equality, safety, and peace for all regardless of race, religion, or ethnicity.”
It acknowledges that the continuation of violence abroad has negative impacts for all involved. The resolution states: “we recognize and stand in solidarity with our Muslim, Jewish, and Palestinian communities, reaffirming our commitment to their safety, security, and well-being.”
The resolution acknowledges those held captive and those murdered on all sides of the conflict. It states: “hundreds of thousands of lives – including those of Israeli hostages – are at imminent risk in Palestine if a cease-fire is not achieved and humanitarian aid is not delivered without delay.”
The resolution is one that “expresses an unwavering commitment to promoting peace and unity both among our own residents and among people of different nationalities throughout the world.” Peace and unity. That’s what this is about.
This is one of the most lovingly crafted, even-handed resolutions I have seen the City of Hartford consider in the last few decades. It would be a travesty if politicians were swayed by non-residents to stray from our own set of values.