I Threw A Stone Once

I was about 12, and we were waiting for the bus. The neighbor kids thought it would be fun to try to hit a car. For the first time in my life, I picked up a stone, and I threw it at a car. It met its mark. The car abruptly came to a halt. The window opened, and it was none other than Jim Dixon, the superintendent of my school district. He was also my father's employer. My father was a principal of two schools in his district. Jim Dixon was also a childhood friend of my grandfather's. His face was red, and he was mad. He knew who I was. He had seen me throw the stone. 

I do not remember what he said. What I remember about the incident is that my father was pretty upset about it. My parents knew that it was not in my demeanor to throw stones at cars. I told him the truth - that the neighbor kids saw it as a game, and that I had no idea whose car it was when I threw it. The neighbor kids thought it was funny, but none of us threw stones at cars after that. 

Fast forward to being a parent myself. I was taking my children to school one day, and a boy on the next street over threw a stone at, and hit, our car. He did know who we were. He knew that my son, Tim, was in the car, and I knew that he did not like Tim. I also knew the boy's parents. I stopped the car, and spoke with the boy. I told him that his mother would find out, that throwing stones could cause damage that cost a lot of money to fix, and that he should not do this again. He said he wouldn't. 

Art Gish was a peace worker with Christian Peacemaker Teams. He worked for years in Hebron, an Isreali-occupied Palestinian territory. He lived with the Palestinians, and witnessed first-hand what happened to them. He stood in front of loaded guns, as an American, to keep people from being shot. He was killed in a tractor accident on his farm in southeastern Ohio after many years of this dangerous work. In his book about Hebron, Art talked about the Isreali children throwing stones at Palestinians. So Art began taking a football with him when he went for a walk. He threw the football back at the Isreali children. They were unable to resist playing toss with the football. The tensions between the Isreali and Palestinian children were released in this way, in rare, good moments. 

Jose Antonio Elena Rodriguez was 16. I do not know for sure whether he did, or did not throw stones from the Mexican side of the fence, at Border Patrol men on the U.S. side of the Mexican-U.S. border in Nogales. Witnesses say he did not, and Border Patrol says he did. They shot him dead. He had too many bullet wounds in him to justify simply disarming him from throwing stones. The building he was in front of is pocked with bullet marks. This week, the U.S. government has stated publicly that they will continue to shoot, and kill, people who throw stones across the border. 

I am appalled at my government. 

Let me say this again. 

I am appalled at my government.