Braylon Williams

I'm heartbroken about the fight that turned a night of celebration into a night of chaos and made the environment unsafe. As a Ripley High School alumnus, fights were—and always have been—a regular occurrence; however, we should not assign shame on humans for being humans that's what increases the socio-economic divide. Now, I'm not condoning the acts of violence, but at the same time, I'm not condemning it either.

Why not condemn this act?

Because at the heart of it is a lack of emotional security and self-worth. And that's what breaks my heart so much about this situation... that to avoid wrestling with the uncomfortable emotions of life, so many people turn to violence and/or addiction (myself included).

But what breaks my heart even more than the act of violence at a graduation ceremony is the rhetoric that I see on Facebook coming from lifelong residents of Ripley. And honestly, in my opinion, it is this rhetoric that is the bigger problem than the fight itself. Because the rhetoric is not giving grace and forgiveness, it's clearly rhetoric that descends from racism. And although, I have yet to see a clearly racist statement, you can tell in the tone of the statements that it aligns with the "those blacks need to get it together" type of rhetoric. And just like the fight itself was, ultimately, rooted in emotional insecurity, the rhetoric of condemnation that I've seen is also rooted in emotional insecurity.

The only way that the violence will ever lessen is if we look inward before we blame outward. Yes, those engaged in the act of violence are in the wrong, but those who condemn first before offering grace and forgiveness are just as wrong.

I may now live in a different state, but Ripley will always be home and a place that I will try to contribute to when given the chance. So, if you are a current resident or a previous resident of Ripley and would like to start looking inward, leave a comment because part of the work that I do now is all about self-exploration and I help guide people to know themselves and their emotions better through the lens of the Enneagram.

It will never get better, unless we make the effort to make it better. And the effort starts individually.

With love and hope for my hometown,
Braylon Williams