The weather is getting nicer, which meant that there were a lot of people working and the hispanic community center was nearly empty! I love going there. The people are nice and thankful, they always smile, and the awkwardness created by our inability to communicate is fun. It's empty because a lot of people were working, which I am happy about, but I missed seeing my friends.
Also, when the weather is nice, there are a bunch of people at the park on the east side. Lots of parents with their kids playing. There are a lot of people in need there, so the lunches go quickly. With the nice weather, I expected a large crowd. So when we started up Harrison Street, and I saw a lot of people, I told the two girls with me to roll up the windows because we always serve lunch there outside with the car doors locked so people won't be able to get in the car.
There are a few people who know me, and know what I am about, so I am never surprised when people approach the car as I am pulling up. I usually smile at them and get out of my car to serve them lunch. As we were driving to where we get out of the car, a guy was walking quickly toward the car, and I was glad that a regular recognized me. When he got in the street, I could tell he didn't know me and he assumed I was there threatening his turf. The park is prime real estate for drug traffic, and this guy was the neighborhood watch dog, a mean one too. I rolled down my window as he approached the car and he yelled at me in a way that made me more scared than I have ever been while I have been doing free lunch. I have been approached before, and scared before, but this guy shook me. I told him I was here to hand out lunches to whoever wanted one, and asked him if he was ok with it. He let me know he was cool with it, and walked away. When I got out of the car and started getting lunches out, it was immediately obvious who the drug dealers were and who wanted food. The drug dealers scattered, and the hungry people came and got lunch. Eventually the watchdog came and I gave him a lunch too.
There is good and evil that exist in this world. We will probably never all agree about who or what is good, but it is easy to agree on what evil is, and most of us know what it feels like.
I couldn't shake off my feelings about what happened, so I called a friend who could articulate the realisty of what happened when I told him the story. Encountering evil with kindness is dangerous work. Evil is real, and if you choose to go in to evil territory, you will probably be threatened. And it's not just your comfort that is at risk, evil uses guns and bullets to stake its claim. Death is a real possibility.
So it is important to be aware of the choices I am making, and to communicate the reality of the places we go to serve lunch. It is also important to choose what battles to fight. Is it worth the risk of death to bring someone a lunch? Why? I don't pretend to have an easy answer to that question, because I don't think an easy answer exists. For me, it is about a belief in something that is sometimes hard to believe. I'm really forced to choose when I am confronted with the possibility that my life my be threatened. Because if I don't really believe it, I am better off to stay home. I believe kindness can change another person, or several people. I believe that kindness is the best tool to infiltrate evil territory. Opposing force can wipe it out or destroy it, but I believe that kindness can change it. When it comes down to it, it's good vs. evil, and I'm in the fight.
