Bad things happen.

They always have.

They always will.

I wanted life to be a smooth ride. I knew bad things would happen, but I didn’t want there to be tragedy.

I found out early that’s not how life happens.

When we’re young, bad things are the monsters hiding under the bed or in the closet. But then a divorce, an ill parents or financial troubles shatter our young worlds. We learn early that life isn’t fair, but we move on, a little less innocent.

In our teen years, we learn first-hand how cruel and vindictive our peers can be. We endured notes passed around the classroom and whispers in the cafeteria.

Our peers ridiculed us for our hair, our teeth, the way we talked, our clothes, where we lived – the list was endless.

The internet changed everything. Now there’s vicious bullying that’s belittling and cruel. The comments these anonymous trolls post are unfair, but somehow, teens lick their wounds and move on.

In the past, we learned we had to take off the rose-colored glasses.

These days, those lenses are shattered.

The coronavirus has changed our perception of what’s safe. I watch movies and see people in food courts, at concerts and walking down a crowded city street and think those days will never happen again.

And now racism and hatred have reared their heads again and torn our country apart. We tell ourselves this outrage over the brutal assault and murder of George Floyd is something new, but it’s not.

Brutality against people of color has been with us since the beginning of mankind.

But now, we can see what happened – there’s no denying. The footage of Mr. Floyd being smothered by a stone-faced police officer is excruciatingly painful.

I watched, thinking the officer would realize what was happening and stop. I thought his fellow officers would listen to the bystanders yelling for someone to help their friend and one of them would step in and stop their co-worker.

I hoped the bystanders would rush the officer and rescue their friend. But I realized they were probably terrified the same would happen to them. It must’ve been agonizing to watch their friend suffocate and they were powerless to do anything.

That must be how minorities feel when people in power pick on others, whether that’s on the playground or on a city street where the stakes are literally life and death.

Bad happens.

Those who lived through the Depression never wanted to go back to rationing, living in fear and sending their boys off to fight in a war.

Those who lived through the Civil Rights movement never wanted things to go back to how they were before leaders demanded equal treatment and dignity.

The black-and-white photos of lynchings are beyond horrific, and it’s the faces of the men and women who are watching young men of color hanging from a tree that make you believe in evil.

Somehow, we find ways to live with the bad.

We avoid the bullies on the playground, learn that gossip fades and we can live without social media.

Educators teach tolerance and acceptance in school, and leaders like Malala who advocate for children to be taught so they don’t repeat the intolerance invasive in their midst.

We listen to the words of leaders who advocated peaceful solutions.

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,” stated Dr. King in his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” which should be required reading for everyone.

The late Nelson Mandela said peace is an environment where all can flourish and John Lennon asked us to imagine a world where we all live in peace.

I’d like to imagine a world where we all live together in understanding, safety and equality.

I just pray it’s not a child’s dream any more.

This column was originally published in The Fort Bend Herald.