The Interrupters
Quickly, before I have to run out the door:
So I saw this amazing documentary, The Interrupters, last night. It was so powerful and so moving - it brought me to tears multiple times, and it left me with such admiration for the brave men and women it profiles, and for the plight of the communities in which they work.
I should back up for moment and explain that in August I listened to a Fresh Air interview with the director, Steve James, and Ameena Matthews, who works as a violence interrupter for a Chicago organization called CeaseFire. CeaseFire's goal is to 'block transmission of the violence virus' - its members work in at-risk communities and try to stop violence before it leads to death. The interview focused on Ameena Matthews and her incredible work, and I knew I wanted to see the film. It turns out it's only in DC for a week, until next Thursday, so I managed to catch it last night. For anyone who's seen 'The Wire' or paid any small attention to issues of urban violence, the predicament facing these communities will be familiar, but CeaseFire's solutions are nothing less than stunning. I have such profound admiration and gratitude for the courage of these interrupters (virtually all former criminals) who fearlessly step into the worst situations and talk people down from fatal action.
Something that struck me is that people living in these "war zone" communities must be a mess of PTSD symptoms - so imagine how difficult coping with life and work and education must be when you're always in a state of impossibly high stress. No wonder people are reactionary and violent. It's not some inherent flaw in their characters, it's a huge stress on individuals and communities who don't have any resources to cope in a healthy way. It's easy for privileged people to criticize and blame them for their problems, but we look at the difficulties our PTSD-afflicted war veterans sometimes have in assimilating back into society. What if war was the sum total of your existence? It's going to be incredibly difficult to succeed in spite of those tremendous constant stresses. Our suffering veterans need support. So do these communities. I'm so glad that this group exists and hopefully it will continue to contribute to helping things improve. Every life saved, and every family brought back together has to help.
So I saw this amazing documentary, The Interrupters, last night. It was so powerful and so moving - it brought me to tears multiple times, and it left me with such admiration for the brave men and women it profiles, and for the plight of the communities in which they work.
I should back up for moment and explain that in August I listened to a Fresh Air interview with the director, Steve James, and Ameena Matthews, who works as a violence interrupter for a Chicago organization called CeaseFire. CeaseFire's goal is to 'block transmission of the violence virus' - its members work in at-risk communities and try to stop violence before it leads to death. The interview focused on Ameena Matthews and her incredible work, and I knew I wanted to see the film. It turns out it's only in DC for a week, until next Thursday, so I managed to catch it last night. For anyone who's seen 'The Wire' or paid any small attention to issues of urban violence, the predicament facing these communities will be familiar, but CeaseFire's solutions are nothing less than stunning. I have such profound admiration and gratitude for the courage of these interrupters (virtually all former criminals) who fearlessly step into the worst situations and talk people down from fatal action.
Click to viewSomething that struck me is that people living in these "war zone" communities must be a mess of PTSD symptoms - so imagine how difficult coping with life and work and education must be when you're always in a state of impossibly high stress. No wonder people are reactionary and violent. It's not some inherent flaw in their characters, it's a huge stress on individuals and communities who don't have any resources to cope in a healthy way. It's easy for privileged people to criticize and blame them for their problems, but we look at the difficulties our PTSD-afflicted war veterans sometimes have in assimilating back into society. What if war was the sum total of your existence? It's going to be incredibly difficult to succeed in spite of those tremendous constant stresses. Our suffering veterans need support. So do these communities. I'm so glad that this group exists and hopefully it will continue to contribute to helping things improve. Every life saved, and every family brought back together has to help.