Repainting the barn

Photo Credit: https://www.horizonstructures.com/blog/it%E2%80%99s-not-too-late-fall-cleanup-your-horse-farm

by Jo Mayer

We have been staining our long-neglected barn this summer and, with each step, our society’s troubled times rise in metaphor. We bought our stain from Jack, the paint expert at Chelsea Lumber, who warned that we needed to wash the barn with a harsh bleach solution to remove the seen and, particularly, the unseen mold and mildew on and in the wood. Otherwise the mold and mildew will continue to erode the wood and the surface mold will quickly reappear through the stain.

It seems to me, as we reluctantly don our safety glasses and long-sleeved shirts in the heat of the summer, that our society needs a “solution” to scrub our institutions and root out the racism lying on the surface and hidden deep within. Instead of bleach and other chemicals, the “solution” might include an expanded view of public safety—bringing in social workers, mental health professionals, and crisis intervention experts alongside police officers, particularly in large metropolitan areas. And all those public safety workers need to be well trained to serve their communities, with an enforceable—and enforced—Code of Conduct.

In the interest of public safety, some of the harshest solutions may include firing those officers who can’t–or won’t–let go of their own endemic racism. In the world of old barn rehab, this would be like replacing a rotted board. (I feel particularly lucky to live in the Stockbridge area with the leadership and guidance of Chief Torres and feel he has been ahead of the curve in regard to community policing.)

We are almost done with our barn staining project and found that working slowly and steadfastly, bit by bit our “new” barn emerged, and the change is amazing. We hope we washed it well and that the old mold and mildew doesn’t reappear very soon. And may the same be true for our society, as we slowly and steadfastly work to create a system of justice for all.