Sticking Up For Strangers

I had to stick up for a complete stranger this week. I have never met him. All I know about him is that he has dark skin, dark hair and chases squirrels around other people's yards. [Yes, you read that right!] We live in a multicultural community. There are a lot of opportunities for misunderstanding and judgment and the like. There are also a lot of opportunities not to assume the worst about people. I am going to let you read one of the threads from our neighborhood online dialogue. (Removing names and other personal info...) You'll see why I stepped in. And, how it changed the course of the dialogue.

NEIGHBOR #1: Today I chased away a guy in someone else's yard who was trying to catch a squirrel. He had parked his van, got out, and was chasing it around a tree. So random, but I don't think I want to know what he was going to do with it!
 
NEIGHBOR #2: Was there a slingshot involved?!

NEIGHBOR #1: Not that I saw. He was just kicking at it and chasing it. Maybe before I got there though.

NEIGHBOR #3: Was it an old rough looking guy with a small back pack. He used to hang around in the subdivision and suddenly I'm seeing him again. I was coming back from church and he was sitting on the curb.

NEIGHBOR #1: Young guy, dark hair, dark skin. Was driving a van.

NEIGHBOR #4: That is unbelievably weird and creepy.

NEIGHBOR #5: Thank you for being so brave Neighbor #1, but please be careful. The guys elevator obviously doesn't go all the way to the top floor if he is randomly stopping and getting out of his vehicle to chase squirrels.

ME: Just to offer a different perspective...in many countries, squirrels are a good source of food. (I have never tried it, but that's only because in the other countries I have lived in, squirrels did not abound!) It may seem strange to some people that we let all these squirrels run around when we could be feeding our families. And, I can guarantee that what to do about squirrels running around is not part of the training that refugees and immigrants receive when they arrive in the USA. :) Just thinking out loud...



NEIGHBOR #1: That's a great perspective.

NEIGHBOR #6: yes, but it is against the law to kill squirrels here-as far as I know. yikes

NEIGHBOR #7 (also works with refugees in the community): My husband says squirrels taste good ... He is from Mississippi : )

NEIGHBOR #8: In this day and age, I would NOT eat squirrel but in my days (60's in Alabama) my in-laws would kill squirrel and fry it up and it tastes just like chicken! Good eating when you have nothing else. Mix it with gravy and homemade biscuits and you are in hog heaven.


So, what do YOU think about this dialogue? Talk to me.