What Might Maya Say About Orlando?

"Thoughts on the Orlando Massacre from Maya Angelou's son Guy Johnson:

I was thinking about what my mother would say if she had been notified of the madness in Orlando when, my wife, Stephanie mentioned "A Brave and Startling Truth." A quick review of the poem revealed that its theme is congruent to any discussion of the tragedies in Orlando and in Chicago where sixty-nine people were shot and many of them killed recently in one weekend, as well as any other cities around the world where gun violence has caused loss of life. The theme of the poem is a plea that we humans need to get our heads on right and come to the conclusion that despite our differences, we are one people.

Although the whole poem relates to the subject of man’s humanity and inhumanity to man, I included just the last four stanzas because they appear most appropriate, but I would encourage everyone to read the whole poem."

"When we come to it
We, this people, on this minuscule and kithless globe
Who reach daily for the bomb, the blade and the dagger
Yet who petition in the dark for tokens of peace
We, this people on this mote of matter
In whose mouths abide cankerous words
Which challenge our very existence
Yet out of those same mouths
Come songs of such exquisite sweetness
That the heart falters in its labor
And the body is quieted into awe

We, this people, on this small and drifting planet
Whose hands can strike with such abandon
That in a twinkling, life is sapped from the living
Yet those same hands can touch with such healing, irresistible tenderness
That the haughty neck is happy to bow
And the proud back is glad to bend
Out of such chaos, of such contradiction
We learn that we are neither devils nor divines

When we come to it
We, this people, on this wayward, floating body
Created on this earth, of this earth
Have the power to fashion for this earth
A climate where every man and every woman
Can live freely without sanctimonious piety
Without crippling fear

When we come to it
We must confess that we are the possible
We are the miraculous, the true wonder of this world
That is when, and only when
We come to it."

Maya Angelou

"The underlying note here is that gun violence in America is getting out of hand. As a thinking people, with the right to vote, we need to implement some sort of controls over the selling and ownership of guns. Hey, I'm a gun owner. My people were hunters. I grew up around guns: pistols, shotguns and rifles were the firearms of choice. I didn't know anyone who had a machine gun or a fully automatic weapon with a big clip until I was an adult. There is no way that fully automatic firearms should be sold across the counter to anyone, nor should anyone be able to buy such weapons. However, if we continue to refuse to outlaw the sale of such weapons, they should not be purchased without a thorough background check and a detailed registration process.

We continue to send prayers and condolences to all those who lost loved ones in the terrible tragedy in Orlando."

The Angelou Johnson Family