Life Goes On
…does it?
Life Goes On
The mail still arrives.
The coffee still brews at the donut shop.
School buses still run their routes. The calendar is full.
LIFE GOES ON
Jeffrey Epstein
Died in a federal jail cell.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for the survivors who never saw justice rendered. The Epstein files have not been released, even though Congress supposedly insisted the Department of Justice do so.
LIFE GOES ON
A mother in Minneapolis.
A civilian. A citizen.
Killed during an ICE operation.
No charges filed against her.
No trial.
No sentence, simply bullets in the face. Renee Good is dead.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for her children, her parents, partner and friends.
LIFE GOES ON
A five-year-old boy.
Wearing a blue bunny hat.
His father taken away by immigration officers.
No cause. No warrant. No explanation he could understand.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for this little boy, his family and friends.
LIFE GOES ON
A man held in immigration detention.
A civil matter, not a criminal conviction.
He reported medical distress.
He died in custody.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for his family, friends, employers, and community.
LIFE GOES ON
Another detainee.
Then another.
Deaths recorded as incidents.
Names released late, if at all.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for the promise that the state would not take a life
without process,
without judgment,
without consequence.
LIFE GOES ON
Alex Pretti
A man in Minneapolis.
Present during a federal enforcement operation.
Shot and killed by U.S. Border Patrol agents.
The investigation ongoing, while videos show what happened.
LIFE GOES ON
But not for his family and colleagues at the VA hospital who worked with him.
LIFE GOES ON
For agencies.
For press briefings.
For internal reviews.
For calendars and schedules and the next item on the agenda.
But not for everyone.
Life goes on is what we say to survive grief.
It becomes something else when it is used to excuse it.
LIFE GOES ON
…until it doesn’t.
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Life goes on........................ until it doesn't. Thank you for this heart felt reflection, Julie.
Julie, your unflinching witness is an example for us all… and gives me hope. Thank you, once again, for all you do.