Calling out the silence

Your readers probably already know the basics about the bomb.  It was left along the parade route for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration in downtown Spokane, on Jan. 17. According to the FBI, the explosive device was designed to inflict multiple casualties.  It apparently included rat-poison chemical and metal shrapnel.  This near-tragedy has left us to consider a set of recurring questions.  The first concerns what survivors would have seen in the aftermath if the bomb had been detonated near the people in the parade.  Images come to mind of the too-common reports of death and screaming and blood that follow acts of terrorism.

Our families were at the parade site, and some of our Gonzaga students and colleagues, along with hundreds of fellow citizens of the Inland Northwest.  So unlike the accounts of terrorism in Baghdad or London or even New York, this recent threat cut away the abstractions and jolted us out of complacency. 

We have been contemplating, for example, the types and frequency of responses to the bomb by members of the Gonzaga community and the Inland Northwest region.  For the most part, unless we have missed important events beyond those sponsored by local law enforcement agencies, the responses have been scant.  People still do not know much about the criminal details regarding this act of terrorism largely because the investigation is ongoing.  We understand and respect that point. 

What makes less sense is the relative silence in what we imagined would be an important and ongoing public discussion about intolerance, community activism for human rights, social justice, and safety.  During a recent visit to the University of Idaho, the Rev. Jesse Jackson was quoted as saying that whoever was responsible for leaving the bomb on the MLK parade route in Spokane was "more sick than mean," and Jackson firmly believes that people "must address the issues that drive us to sickness."  Are we adequately addressing those issues, at Gonzaga, in Spokane, and in the surrounding communities?

Another spiritual leader, Bishop Blase Cupich, of the Spokane Catholic Diocese, asserted in January (in an article in The Spokesman-Review) that people "just have to be willing to stand up for right and be willing to defend ourselves and denounce this type of terrorism that people want to inflict on our lives." Again we wonder whether Gonzaga is doing all it can to stand up for right.  If not, what should Gonzaga do?

At the MLK event, hundreds of people were supporting one of Spokane's best efforts to promote peace and social justice, and many could have been injured and killed.  We realize that if the bomb had gone off, and if our lives had been spared, we would have found ourselves at home later that day struggling to answer questions from young children wanting to know why someone would hate someone else so much that they would build a bomb and kill innocent people. We sincerely hope we never have to have such a conversation, and we feel new appreciation and sympathy for those parents around the world who have had to help their children work through the grim despair that accompanies tragic acts.

Sobering, anxiety-producing events like the bomb placement on the MLK parade route can elicit fear and a tendency to withdraw from the difficult conversations in our world.  They can also provide inspiration to serve as men and women for others.  From our perspective, there is a relative lack of conversation on GU's campus in the aftermath of this act of terrorism in our own backyard.  Interestingly, the Just Desserts event on Feb. 8 in Cataldo Hall involved no audience members or panelists speaking of the bomb found along the MLK day parade route and the specific historical and social implications of that act of terrorism.  Though that seems like a lost opportunity, the goal here is not to criticize but to call out the silence all around the community.  We have hope that Gonzaga might formulate even more ways of responding to the challenges set forth by leaders such as Jesse Jackson and Bishop Cupich.  Certainly the unique asset of Gonzaga's Institute for Hate Studies provides one clear way for the University to contribute to the Spokane community's slow but growing response to poignant problems in our city and region.

But institutions can only do so much.  Real action so often comes from the efforts of dedicated individuals.  For example, if you find yourself wondering what you can do, besides attending next year's MLK Day events in defiance of terrorism, there is an event being hosted on Feb. 21 at the East Central Community Center.  The East Central Community is very close to Gonzaga's campus and holds the long-standing recognition as one of the neighborhoods well- populated by African Americans.  The Spokane branch of the NAACP will host a community forum called "Talk Out" at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 21 in the East Central Community Center.

Though no one can predict the future, we do strongly suspect that attending the "Talk Out" could be greatly beneficial to hosting our own immediate dialogue on campus because it is important to go out into the community of Spokane and listen to people who hold very important opinions. There is also a value that comes from engaging with community members on their ground.  Too often, institutions of higher education are seen as talking down to the community or are labeled as the ivory tower that is out of touch with ordinary citizens.

The topic of Community will soon garner a lot of attention here on our campus.  Next year, the common book assigned to all incoming freshmen will be "Tattoos on the Heart," by Fr. Greg Boyle, SJ.  We will spend nine months on campus delving deeper into the community theme, but with "Talk Out" you have an opportunity to get started now on improving your understanding of local issues that affect us all.