Continuing the discussion from Nipsey Hussle mural in Oakland:
Nipsey Hussle was shot and killed. I don’t want to say that aloud to Clover but also how can I lie? What if I want to talk about that mural and what it means to me to see it?
Mr. Rogers said his mother said to look for the helpers. I guess artists are helpers sometimes under that rubric. But it’s not really helpful for this case? Because I’m not trying to encourage anyone to watch footage related to it, and it’s not like a natural disaster type situation?
from the article, the mural artist says…
“I felt like it was a perfect opportunity for me to use his death, which was a tragedy for Nipsey, and make something positive out of it,” Reed said. “What I want young people in Oakland to feel when they see this mural is this, we’ve got to learn how to resolve conflict without violence.”
This is a catch-22 because it also means letting young people know that some people resolve conflict with violence. And I come from a place of extreme privilege when I say that because some children already know this. And the violence I was exposed to was not gun violence or even physical violence but it was still violence and I am still broken. And we should celebrate that not all children “know” that violence is a way to resolve conflicts. And now I’m crying.
I feel like Nipsey Hussle’s story and the story he tells us about what’s happening in our society are important to me but that does not mean it has to do with Clover, for now. Maybe it would be different if it were my child. I am okay with Nipsey Hussle being a figure and artist I and others in Oakland admired and leaving it there.