There are a lot of people talking about how hard it will be to be alone for Christmas. Talking about how they will be missing those special loved ones they traditionally spend the holiday with.
For many, COVID-19 has brought a new reality of isloation and uncertainty to the holiday season. One that is, unfortunately, very familiar to some already.
Families can lose loved ones to police violence. Or, police might take children from their parents and put them in foster care where they are often abused. Maybe their loved ones are deported by ICE.
At holiday events across the country, police have ensured that where once there was someone’s loved one, now there’s an empty chair. Instead at the holiday table, a partner’s jokes are missing. A grandchild’s dance no longer entertains the family. A father cannot reassure his children in this terrifying time.
And when Family Members must face that emptiness, they must also reflect on who took their loved ones away and why. The government murdered and harmed and removed their loved ones, for police are part of the government. The government that is supposed to represent them and create a place where they can pursue “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”. Instead police harrass the Families for speaking out, criminalizing their grief and harming the community further.
The losses are many. And devastating. Every day of every year.
This year, Families will not only be missing their loved ones. Many must navigate the holiday season without each other, too.
This holiday season, the Family Members of Pacific Northwest Family Circle extend our deepest sympathies to all those whose loved ones are not present at their holiday table, whether it be from police or COVID or both. May your angels in heaven bring comfort and healing to you. May you be reunited with your angels on earth.