Serendipitous Meeting

There are so many things that happen every time I visit the Circle, even if I’m only there for a short while. I’ve thought about actually keeping a diary about it. But, this is not a diary, this is a blog.

On New Year’s Day, I installed signage that I’m hoping will be the first in a series of timeline photographs, an installation that allows people to walk through the Circle and view a chronology of last year’s protest.

I finished installing this signage, started walking around, and overheard a young woman filming or showing a friend on her phone that she had been teargassed at this location.

We got to talking. She recounted her recollection of the event. First time I’ve heard a survivor’s firsthand account, from their lips.

Of all the things that she told me, the most harrowing was that the police were spitting on people. She told me other things that were upsetting, but I don’t want to misreport. I remember clearly that she said the police were spitting on people.

I’m a public school teacher. I’m also tasked with community safety. The analogy I draw is: can you imagine a fire fighter, or a teacher, or a nurse ever purposefully spitting on someone in order to control a crowd or do their job?

I guess… What I found incredibly coincidental and serendipitous is that I happened to be installing the sign that very day. Although, it’s possible survivors frequently visit The circle. Maybe that’s mere coincidence.

But in truth, I’m picking up trauma. From the relative silence of most of the protesters, I think they’re processing their trauma. Also, some of them are actually working through the legal ramifications of the over policing and frivolous arrests.