Our community stood in unity and solidarity on Friday when the WBC came to town. 340 of us formed a line for 45 minutes, in front of the HS in a "shield of loving kindness". Halfway through the spewing of hate and disgusting language shouted through the bull horn, we all turned our backs on the protestors and faced our youth who were getting out of school. On our backs were bumper stickers "Power of Silence".
We stood in silence for 45 minutes, holding hands, in two long lines between the spewers and the students. We had been trained in non-violent action. During the training for 2 minutes we had to not react as another role player screamed at us, in language that was similar to what we would hear during our non-violent action. The training was actually worse than the event.
WBC is very punctual, they arrive when they say they will, and leave when they say they will. We remained silent in our lines, while the 8 of them got back in the mini-van.
As they turned the corner away from the HS there was a quiet cheer among the participants.
What I realized about 10 minutes into standing there, is that every muscle in my body was tense. I was on high alert. As soon as I realized this I relaxed my muscles. 3 days later my muscles, from being tense for those 10 minutes, are still sore.
This is a bit of a rambling post, but being trained in non-violence is really good for the rest of my life. I am more able to listen to people without reacting, and I am able to wait until they are done before I form a rebuttal. As I consider difficult conversations, I am able to listen, and look right through the person who is speaking. I am able to just not react. This will take lots of practice.
It really was a gift to participate in this silent action. The non-violent response is a shield I carry with me going forward.
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