By Jason and Jessica WildeAs a kid of the early 90's, I spent a lot of time chasing Goombas and Koopas and running from Cheep Cheeps. But by far, my lease favorite enemy were "Boo" Diddlys. In case you don't know the reference, "Boos" were ghost enemies that were nearly invincible, could pass through walls, and were completely harmless - as long as you looked in their direction. You could stare at them all night long and they'd sleep in the corner of a room and leave you alone. But, as soon as you turn your back, they would silently drift toward you, fangs drawn. Turn around again, and *blink* back asleep they go, as if nothing happened. It turns out a less menacing, but just as creepy variant of Boos exist in real life, though we didn't discover them until we came home with a cute, loud, Chinese-born disabled boy. These Boos are most noticeable during church, but have been spotted on buses, grocery stores, and generally anywhere a standing crowd forms. We'll be singing, or listening, or just talking to each other, and in the corner of my eye, I'll notice a head fixed on him, like the one sunflower in a field facing a different direction. As soon as I turn to see who's interested in us, *blink*, they turn around and assimilate. I sometimes wonder if we cause neck damage from sudden whiplash. Now, there's a difference to be noted here. We were all told as kids to not stare, for exactly this reason. It makes people feel uncomfortable when they are being stared at, mindlessly, while you try to figure out...whatever is going on in your mind, and apparently it is something that requires careful and meticulous examination. In China, we also had starers, but they wouldn't stop when you looked at them. It was pretty easy to notice when they became fixed on you, and usually, it gave us a chance to catch their gaze, smile back, and have some sense of a non-verbal conversation. But this particular species of starer, the "Boo" starer, is so self-conscious that you don't get a chance to even figure out why they were staring, and it feels creepy to know that there are probably twice as many such Boos who we don't see. In some situations, it can make someone nervous to the point of paranoia, especially in a scenario where it is obvious that the internal mind thoughts are probably not hospitable. Once such case was at the March for Life last weekend in downtown Austin. We thought having him there would be a great witness for adoption - an obvious companion to the pro-life movement. The Boos changed forms in this particular crowd from passive starer to active menacing glares (just like their Boo Diddly counterparts) and even protesting 'turn and walk away in disgust' Boos. To be fair, we were probably a little more provocative in this crowd as we held signs that not only read the party line "Pro-Adoption", "Pro-Love", "Pro-Life" slogans, but also some scandalous phrases such as "Pro-Prisoner", "Pro-Welfare", "Pro-Social Justice", and the perhaps forbidden "Pro-Environment", "Pro-Migrant", and *gasp* "Pro-Refugee", along with "#WholeLife" in giant bold letters. We weren't protesting anything that this particular march was fighting for. No, in fact we were in full support of the pro-birth cause that everyone obviously had conceived in their minds as the entire focus of this campaign, and we were trying to also show support for all life, as our God and Church asks us to do. But it became very clear among this particular crowd that we didn't fit the exact mold with the exact same sign and same chant, homogeneous family, and same red caps with white lettering proclaiming how great our country is, and as such, we were the enemy, at least to some. To others, we were a beacon of hope. We had followed through on our promise to care for and save life. Several took pictures of our family and our signs and stopped to talk with Chi Yu as he told them about his favorite stick in the whole wide world (which he found 5 minutes earlier). Unfortunately, like in most cases, it is the problem child that gets the most attention, and in our minds, we were probably overly careful about who we talked with and where we let our kids walk. In the one instance where Chi ran away and started talking to a family, they quickly retracted as we came to get him. This hurt our hearts, even though Chi still didn't quite get it. For complete transparency, we have never been physically attacked, but this constant state of being "on guard" can have the same effect of feeling like the world is out to get you. Add to that the current stigma against anyone who didn't scream their first breath within the well defined borders of this country, and I think we have an understandable edginess when walking around with our immigrant son. Sometimes the craziest things cause me to go into "on guard" mode I have been walking Alex to Kuk Sool Won class several times a week. We were walking up the hill to our house yesterday when a car stopped abruptly beside us. I didn't think anything of it until I heard the growling. Yes, growling...as in full throated, animalistic growling. I looked over just as the man pulled his head back inside the car and the driver sped off. I ran as fast as I could with my babies in tow up the hill and hid out of sight. A year ago, I would have passed this off as a teenager doing a prank. But, given everything that is happening in our country, and everything we have experienced with Chi, I reacted very differently. My story is but a prick on the skin compared to what I know many Muslim, Hispanic, Middle Eastern, and Asian families are living with on a daily basis - hatred and vile words coming from people who refuse to face them in person, and angry expressions of disgust from those who do. Search for the right hashtag on Twitter, and I become ashamed to be living in the same country as the people who spew such hatred against women, children, citizens, priests, or anyone who seems to not agree with the mantra that they believe in. I can't image the self control a person of Islam faith must have to endure such scorn from his fellow man. I probably did overreact and was not likely in any serious danger, but the fact that I reacted in panic due to my fellow American tells me something: The terrorists are winning. Our country is severely divided and afraid. While some are afraid of foreigners, others are afraid of the growing hate from and between our fellow Americans. This is the goal of terrorists - to frighten us and divide us. Terrorists are winning, and they are doing so with such stealth and finesse that we don't even know we're being assimilated to prey on anyone who is afraid, such that the terrorized becomes the terrorist. We must fight hate, but we cannot do so with hate. To beat terrorism you must conquer your fears not by annihilating them, but by replacing them with the only things that can break the spell of terror; things like love, compassion, concern, kindness, and empathy. We must begin to stand with each other, no matter what we look like, come from, act like, or believe in. We must start a dialogue of love for each other...everyone! We must be the good Samaritan. We must be the bridge between each other. Even though I may be afraid, my trust and faith is in God. He is my strength. He is my shelter in this hate storm. This growl won't stop me. Rocks won't stop me. Hate and fear won't stop me from loving my neighbor and living my life. Finally, to the Boo Diddlys in our lives: It's OK to smile - this can mean so much more to someone than just being another sunflower in the field.
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On a MissionTwo passionate parents and their four children are excited to bring His Word to everyone in need while living a life of Gospel poverty as missionaries. They invite you to join them on a journey to encounter our global neighbors that Jesus commands us to love through works of charity and service. Archives
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