Peaceful Protest --- A Dung Hill Narrative ---

Mixing Dung & Grass

On a 90-degree day in March of 1999, Eric and I stood under a shade tree taking a necessary break during our construction project in San Luis, Mexico. I smiled as I watched children play while rolling down a small 5-foot hill some 30 yards from our site. I turned and said to Eric, “You know what they’re rolling on, don’t you?” “It’s a dirt mound, right?”, he said. “No”, I said, “Actually it is human dung that has been dried”. At first glance, most who read the above will say the obvious, “Gross!” Yet what you don’t realize is that this is the product of their livelihood. You see they live in what is called the “Ladrillos”, that is brickwork or brick makers. And the primary ingredient in the bricks that they make, is in fact dried human dung. 

... Bricks after being fired ...

Why do I tell the above story, because so very often we miss the beauty that is directly in front of us. I believe that the greatest factor of such is that our life is so extremely fast paced and so consumed with an excessive amount of our personal “To do” list, that we often walk about life with proverbial ‘blinders’. At other times, it’s not so much that we miss it, rather we decide that it is outside or contrary to the narrative that we want to tell. And that, yes, is your prerogative. But then, please don’t call yourself, “Our Town”.

 

I’ve lost count on how many times that I’ve mentioned the cool ‘community’ touch and perspective that the paper, “Our Town”, provides. Unfortunately, this time I believe that they missed the dung hill! Directly adjacent to Silverton’s “Peaceful protest”, were a group of 40 plus community members adding a “Peaceful prayer” to this event. Thankful, that these protesters had a platform to express their dispute and that they honored our community as they truly maintained a “peaceful” resolve. Yet, I ask myself, “Why did you (Our Town) fail to mention the full extent of what happened in “our town” that Friday afternoon? 

My hope is that in “our town” we can cherish the vast differences which lie within our borders. That we not allow “Diafonophobia” (that is the fear of disagreement) to be master of our thoughts and of our story within this great community.

Note: This was written in response to two articles within the Silverton, Oregon 'Our Town' newspaper published June 2020 --- Vol. 17 No. 12. These articles reflected on the protest being held at the old Eugene Field School. But the paper --- again 'Our Town' --- neglected to provide any reference to the 'Peaceful Prayer' occurring prior to the protest, only a 100 yards away. That, in my opinion is a shame.