Crime

A Small Thing Like Me

LaShelle

I was walking down a city street in Chicago. Garbage littered the edges of the hot pavement, and there was a smell I couldn’t quite identify. The blacktop was so poorly maintained that it was broken up into large chunks which I nearly tripped on, yet there arising from the cracks was a lone flower. The purple upturned petals lifted skyward, it had taken root in the smallest patch of soil and despite being engulfed by skyscrapers… it had bloomed. This tiny little thing among giants was a marvel of strength to behold.

When I wrote my story titled “The Night I Had to Save Our Lives”… I decided to post it because I felt that it might make me feel better. I was reliving what happened to me as if it was permanently locked into my brain and I felt compelled to find a way to pour it out. In a world where women’s rights and gun rights are a hot topic, I felt a lot like that tiny flower. A small thing among the giants who more than likely voted towards whatever swayed their hearts and lined their pockets. Yet it’s impact negatively effected my life.

Just a few short weeks later, Russia invaded Ukraine. My husband and I stared at our smart phones while checking for updates about the war on a daily basis. We watched videos of mothers clutching their children while rockets zinged over their heads. We saw images of a father weeping over the lifeless body of his son. We heard stories about brave families who fled the country but left loved ones behind to defend their homes. As more and more media piled into news feeds and the shock of the unjust radiated through the comfort of American homes… people were overwhelmed with the question of “How could something like this happen to someone like me?”

Meanwhile, alone on my laptop I browsed through stories that total strangers shared with me about horrific events that happened to them in their own homes. The messages in my inbox on Facebook discussed the topic of being empowered over taking back the control and responsibility over one’s personal safety rather than leaving it in the hands of others. Women reached out to me and talked about being raped, beaten, and many times caught off guard by an intruder within their own homes. What happened to me was a nightmare and yet many had stories that were so much worse than my own.

Some days ago a clip rolled around of the Ukrainian government giving out weapons that had been shipped straight from American soil. These firearms were being placed into the hands of grandmothers, CEO’S, mothers, and even stunning debutant winners. Soldiers helped prepare these brave people by setting up targets in alley ways to show them how to use their weapons to defend what’s rightfully theirs. Over here in America we continued to take our children to school and live our lives almost untouched by such traumatic events with the exception of the rising cost of oil and gasoline.

My story proved to many of my personal friends that the complacency of the thought that “This won’t happen to me”… was a dangerous precedent. How can we swell with pride for Ukrainian mothers over defending their own and yet ridicule American women for protecting their homes and children at the same time? How can we readily ship firearms overseas to make them more accessible in the hands of law abiding citizens and yet create antigun laws within cities like Chicago? The average man is capable of overpowering the average woman and a firearm in the hands of a law abiding woman is the only equalizer she has.

Weather you’re comfortable with firearms or not, most people can physically see how itty bitty Ukraine is bravely giving Russia a reason to reconsider entering their home and country… one bullet at a time. A tiny Ukrainian woman went viral for going nose to nose with a Russian soldier who was twice her size. She handed him sunflower seeds to put in his pocket “So that flowers would grow when he died on Ukrainian soil.” If the power of that statement and the bravery of what that implies doesn’t move you to tears I don’t know what will.

We all have to live and survive within this great big world. I pray that the voices of humanity will echo throughout world history loud enough so that there is a brand new movement for the right to bare arms. There is a reason why the second amendment was written into the American constitution and Ukraine is the perfect example of that. To be able to defend our homes, our loved ones, and to neutralize any threat both foreign and domestic. If history teaches you nothing, I hope that you will allow it to teach you this: Don’t get too comfortable. What happens to a small thing like me… can happen to you too.

Nikolai and our peach tree

Published by LaShelle

Tea drinking, mountain living, wife, and mother. Writing and photographing my way through through the south.

24 thoughts on “A Small Thing Like Me”

  3. A very thoughtful post and one which we should all heed as it could be me…The brave people of Ukraine are setting us an example they are full of strength and National Pride…Thank you for following CarolCooks2 🙂

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  5. Such a powerful piece of writing. It’s hard to watch what’s happening in Ukraine and not get emotional. I am not a fan of guns and have marched to limit the kinds of weapons that have been linked to mass shootings, but as you so eloquently articulated here-we can’t get too comfortable. We can’t hide behind the police and military, for they might not always be there for us. You’ve given me a different perspective to consider. Thank you.

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    1. Bridgette- I’m speechless! I’m so thankful that you having a completely different perspective than me, we’re able to read what I wrote without feeling offended. It’s not easy to do and I wrote this with the anticipation that I may get a lot of backlash. You’ve really brightened my day today with compliments and being able to step outside your comfort zone. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

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  6. A heartfelt, very well written post! Though I was thinking the exact opposite: we need to somehow destroy all weapons, especially weapons of mass destruction. Manufacturing theme should be prohibited. We need to focus on saving the future. But I’ll read your other story next and probably see your point of view better 💗😊

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  7. I’m lost of words. You wrote all and more of what’s going on in my mind and heart about the war. What’s happening in Ukraine can happen anywhere, to us. It is sad that this death and destruction are happening yet many in the unaffected parts of the World are so detached. Where I am, people are busy celebrating their freedom from mandates and wearing mask and unbothered with a war that the U.S. may already be involved. The courage of the Ukrainians are to be admired battling a giant bully Russia. Thanks for this post. People need to talk and discuss more the War because it a threat to all.

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    1. Yes it really is! Their bravery is incredibly moving and I too wish more people we’re talking about it. Thanks so much for reading and writing such a thoughtful compliment 🥰❤️

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      1. It is comforting to know we are not the only ones concerned and worried of what’s happening in the real world. I look around me and people are so detached to the horrific possibilities of War, Disease and Politics. Many still has this mindset of sharing only things that are fun, amazing, beautiful when real life is not like that all the time. It’s good and bad, more or less.

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      3. Blogging is about expressing who we are and what we love. It’s our only escape from a world into followers, fame and monetary rewards. Word Press is that last frontier where other social media like I.G, FB, and You Tube has failed. Integrity and self preservation is very important. To write something that authentic is as rare as finding diamonds on the street. Thanks.

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  8. One word for this… YES!
    It is very hard to get someone to see another’s perspective when there are so many distractions that one can give (red herrings and straw-men galore). People want to feel safe and in control of their own lives, so they want to look for the easy solution (although it is an impractical one). This keeps people from looking at the root causes of violence. We need to share perspectives and not be deterred because it is the “unpopular” thing to do in your specific community. Then, and only then, will we make progress and find a solution that works.

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