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Just had an interesting conversation in a local Olympia coffee shop. As hard as I try, I recognize the last 200+ days have had an affect on me. I’m hardened and jaded. I get regular death threats, I experience a stunning amount of police violence, my opinions have changed.
These girls making my coffee haven’t experienced this. They asked what I did, I told them. They anxiously asked what would happen at the Capitol today. I told them likely nothing because of the rain. One told me her parents lived in Salem, but wouldn’t tell her any details.
I explained Salem was fine on J6 compared to other days, her parents were okay.
They talked about how scary Olympia has been, seeing all the cop cars and the bearcats. That the National Guard presence was terrifying too. All the men with guns. They feared for their safety.
They talked about how scary Olympia has been, seeing all the cop cars and the bearcats. That the National Guard presence was terrifying too. All the men with guns. They feared for their safety.
At one point I callously mentioned I’d been hit with a few flashbangs in Olympia. How bad it has been.
But then I saw it: the terror. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want them to be aware. They were AWARE. It was happening all around them. They weren’t oblivious libs.
But then I saw it: the terror. It wasn’t so much that I didn’t want them to be aware. They were AWARE. It was happening all around them. They weren’t oblivious libs.
I felt disappointed in how jaded I was. I wasn’t taking into account how much more they could take. Olympia looks like a war zone. They just wanted to know if they were safe for the day, I’d already given my expert opinion on that. I went too far.
We forget as the people enmeshed in this how much we’re seeing. How normal it is to us. We are used to so much, and it is more than the average human spirit can take. Enlighten, teach, but don’t harm.
