BRATTLEBORO — As we read articles and social-media posts touting opportunities for pop-up musicians around town and adding vibrancy to more drab spaces in town (such as the alley way by the Transportation Center), I sincerely hope that we are doing so with the goal of community members of all walks of life being able to enjoy spaces and entertainment side by side with one another.
As more and more studies are showing, isolation and ostracization of groups of people directly feeds into feelings of disenfranchisement, shame, and dehumanization, further exacerbating many of the challenges that small communities such as ours are currently facing.
The side effects of breakdowns in our society in sectors such as medical, housing, mental health, family support, and substance-use-disorder treatment are, and shall remain, very painful and visible reminders of where we as a nation of bifurcated communities have failed one another.
Until the core issues can be worked on with bravery and honesty, the best we can do at the community level is practice radical acceptance.
Share spaces with one another. Engage in restorative-justice procedures when necessary. Engage in conversation always, until all of us can begin to respect one another exactly as we are.
And let us all remember to find ways to engage in community care and self care, to minimize the effects of the vicarious trauma felt when witnessing firsthand the immense struggles of our neighbors.
In solidarity,