Ode to the coyote that pooped in my neighbor’s yard

You know the drill. You get an emergency alert on your friendly neighborhood app. You check it to find the emergency is actually a neighbor who is upset about a stolen package or, in this case, a coyote desecrating their property. The message that follows is often of indignation, and I often wonder who they are actually talking to. 

I mean, I’m blogging. Who am I actually talking to?

Like, number one or number two?

Don’t get me wrong; I’d be furious if a porch pirate took off with my package, regardless of the value. Waiting for my deliveries is like same-day or next-day Christmas. I think anyone who’s had property stolen, rifled through, or vandalized can relate. It’s a violation. It makes you feel unsafe and insecure. It makes you angry.

In anger, folks will turn to shaming and scold these thieves on social platforms, but are those very thieves reading the neighborhood apps? No. If they were, would they feel remorse? Also probably no.

What I find most interesting, though, is how we can point out the injustice done to us without self-reflecting on the injustices done to others throughout history. How we can suddenly say “this isn’t fair!” while still questioning the validity of another person’s lived experience. The worst part? Hoping someone will listen. 

Well, we’re all listening now. Many of us are asking how we got here. Only some of us recognize we’ve always been here. And, sadly, very few of us are wondering why it’s been so hard to understand injustice until now, when their precious packages are threatened. 

It’s also sad that a self-described victory isn’t enough unless it’s a zero-sum game. Scorched earth. Plow the salt deep. The problem with revenge is that no one wins. The victors don’t realize it until it’s too late for them, too. 

So, in this moment of everything being carelessly torn down in anger and vengeance, my hope is that the right folks will emerge to build it back up again. Let’s not let this point in history be a total loss. Because this is precious.

Oh and in my red, white, and seasonal blues, I made another scarf. 

But not actually red, white, and blue.