Last night, life went on.
Three days ago someone ambushed two Rochester police officers, killing one, injuring another.
In a city wracked with violence, where killings and shootings and violence seem to be business as usual, we have ended up with dead and one injured police officer.
As expected the mayor and some community leaders, as well as leaders in law enforcement spoke out about the violence and the need for it to end. Some called for prayers.
The sadness over such a senseless tragedy hangs over the community like a heavy blanket. Not just the killing of a police office, but the violence that has a vice like grip on the community.
Last night I marched in a parade in East Rochester. There were signs of support for the Rochester Police Department. The group with whom I marched, the Penfield Fire Department, had signs in the windows of the fire trucks supporting the RPD.
The parade was like most, big crowds, lots of music and other noise. People celebrating and having fun. After two years of cancellations due to the pandemic, it was very much like the “old days”, almost normal, if there is such a thing.
At the end of the parade was a carnival filled with rides and food and games and music.
This year the crowd seemed larger than ever. At times it was hard to move as people waited patiently in long lines to get on their favorite rides and to get their hot dogs and fried dough.
Under the canopy of the beer tent it was a little less frantic and I was offered a chance to step back and take it all in.
In that moment I was struck by the reality that only a couple miles to the east there was a community (Fairport, the slain officer’s home town) mourning the loss of a husband, father, son and neighbor, and a couple miles to the west, a city suffering the weight of anger, violence, and hate.
Yet there we were in the middle of those two places where none of that seemed to matter. I’m sure many people there, especially the many police, fire, and other first responders had the weight of recent events in their hearts, but the majority of folks were simply having fun on a hot summer night.
Quite simply, life went on.
There was another murder and multiple shootings in the city last night.
We keep hearing reports about the slain officer and how much his service meant to the city of Rochester, and how much his life meant to the Fairport community.
In the coming days the slain officer will be laid to rest, and the community will say goodbye to someone who made a difference.
In the coming days the coward who ambushed those officers will begin his journey through the court and penal system.
And life will go on.
It’s easy to get lost in the sadness, anger, frustration, and senselessness of the world around us. It’s easy to think things are dark, wishing for “the good old days” when things were simpler.
But life goes on.
Despite sadness, tragedy, anger, and hate being on either side of us last night, thousands of people still went out and had a good time. They laughed, danced, drank, rode, and embraced the moment.
Because life goes on. It has for thousands of years, and it may for thousands more.
Human’s seem to find a way to pick up, dust off, and keep going, even in the ugliest of times.
Life goes on.
