When all your peers are gone

Saturday I was walking home from a friend's place and decided to cut through Phoenix park.
Lo and behold i ran into the church spring break interns cleaning up the park and painting the fence with the simple way folks. I stayed to chat for a bit, then promised to return later to hang out and enjoy the space.

Rewind- Phoenix park used to be an abandoned warehouse and twenty row homes. A seven-alarm fire started in the warehouse, destroyed the homes and displaced many people. This happened in 2007. Predictably the city didn't pay much mind to this marginalized community. Finally after five years the horticultural society gave some funds to plant grass. The simple way painted tires and starred lining the space with it. This past year a mural went up. I imagine it was named Phoenix park after the Phoenix..... Some strength and beauty coming outta the fire. Hopefully.

Anyway I returned after finishing my own chores. We played some soccer w neighbourhood kids. A nearby fight broke out. This was the first time I saw a street fight from beginning to end.  Beginning when two foolios are looking at each other in the face, then a crowd assembles, then everyone gets riled up, then some boys start taking off their shirts, or maybe just flashing some chest tattoos or pectoral muscles for intimidation? I have no idea. Finally someone throws the first punch. A guy ends up on the ground. The crowd is this flowing migrating amoeba. There is yelling. Once the guys is on the ground, everyone seems to want a chance at hitting/kicking, whether or not they were part of the original conflict. Then an older (40ish) man picks up the young buck off the sidewalk, tells him "get up" and walks him down the block. Chap's face is bloody.

Do I run over and make sure his teeth are ok??!!!! Just kidding.

He brawl is over because someone yells "popo is coming". A van with two female police officers drives up around the block.

So several thoughts:

-I am sick to my stomach whenever I see human brutality live. I can handle on tv and movies and video games. But when I see humanity engaging as animals, I need to barf.

-I am a shameless gawker.

-kudos to sue telling the kids to run away from violence, rather than towards it, as they started doing

-I bet the person who got beat was probably being obnoxious or offensive, even though I feel bad for him

-the older man who picked up the guy on the ground beat the inner city life expectancy for black males. Sadly the majority of killings in this part of town is against black and Hispanic makes 18-35. I wonder how many friends he has seen die. And I wonder how many of his peers are left. My grandparents as octogenarians always seemed a little forlorn to me. I would be too if I witnessed most of my peer group pass away.

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An addendum here is that this week, pastor Fred gave a devotional for us at work. He mentioned a lot of conflict is because there is too much ME and not enough Jesus. Too many street fights coz "someone looked at me wrong" or too much drama at church coz "the pastor didn't pay attention to me".

Sigh. Is it not enough to know that the freaking God of the universe knows my name?! Let alone, He cares and died to save my soul from hell, and I didn't even have to do anything to earn it?! Do i always have to a cow when something doesn't go my way?!

Anyway, I guess being made aware of so much brokenness makes it much easier to desire eternity with God and for Jesus to come soon. Like now. I suppose that is partly why nuns and the pope practice this poverty thing.

Good night.