Jeg blir så sint og lei meg. Det skjer så mye fælt for tida. Vi våkner stadig til triste nyheter om angrep og overgrep rundt omkring i verden. I Nice, Istanbul og Orlando, for eksempel. Motivasjonen varierer, men resultatet er alltid det samme. Sjokk, sinne, sorg – og sympati.

Jeg forstår ikke hvordan mennesker kan få seg til å skade eller drepe andre bare fordi de har en annen legning, en annen hudfarge, en annen religion eller en annen livsstil enn dem selv. Jeg forstår heller ikke at noen tror de faktisk kan fremme saken sin og få det som de vil ved å bruke slike virkemidler. Det sier alt om dem. De vinner aldri fram, det vet vi andre.

På tunge dager feller jeg tårer, og så klemmer jeg på Jonasflotte, og så hører jeg på Johnny Cash sin Man in Black.

Well, you wonder why I always dress in black,
Why you never see bright colors on my back,
And why does my appearance seem to have a somber tone.
Well, there’s a reason for the things that I have on.

I wear the black for the poor and the beaten down,
Livin’ in the hopeless, hungry side of town,
I wear it for the prisoner who has long paid for his crime,
But is there because he’s a victim of the times.

I wear the black for those who never read,
Or listened to the words that Jesus said,
About the road to happiness through love and charity,
Why, you’d think He’s talking straight to you and me.

Well, we’re doin’ mighty fine, I do suppose,
In our streak of lightnin’ cars and fancy clothes,
But just so we’re reminded of the ones who are held back,
Up front there ought ‘a be a Man In Black.

I wear it for the sick and lonely old,
For the reckless ones whose bad trip left them cold,
I wear the black in mournin’ for the lives that could have been,
Each week we lose a hundred fine young men.

And, I wear it for the thousands who have died,
Believin’ that the Lord was on their side,
I wear it for another hundred thousand who have died,
Believin’ that we all were on their side.

Well, there’s things that never will be right I know,
And things need changin’ everywhere you go,
But ’til we start to make a move to make a few things right,
You’ll never see me wear a suit of white.

Ah, I’d love to wear a rainbow every day,
And tell the world that everything’s OK,
But I’ll try to carry off a little darkness on my back,
‘Till things are brighter, I’m the Man In Black.

Jeg synes denne sangen er umåtelig trist, men den er også solidarisk, og det er godt. Noen ganger føler jeg meg litt alene, fordi ting går sånn innpå meg, og hverdagen virker uviktig når det foregår så mye forferdelig. Heldigvis er det alltid mye å glede seg over også, oppi alt det som gjør vondt – og heldigvis står vi sammen, alle vi som sørger i det små. Det hjelper.

– – – – –
In other words: I’m so angry and sad. There are so many awful things happening these days. In Nice, Istanbul and Orlando, for instance. Attacks on the LGBT community, black shootings, terror… I just don’t understand how anybody can bring them selves to hurt or kill others because they have a different sexuality, appearance, religion or way of life. (I also don’t get how anyone can think that those extreme actions will actually help their cause or that they will get their way like this. They never do, and they never will.) It all feels hopeless sometimes, so I shed some tears, hug my boyfriend and listen to Man in Black by Johnny Cash. We’re all hurting. We’re in this together. That helps.