BREAKING THINGS IS EASIER THAN FIXING THINGS

Breaking costly things is part of adult life. We find something useful, and use it. And it breaks. Sometimes they break themselves.

If it breaks, we fix it, or throw it away and buy an updated version.

The proud and the brave say, “Not me, man. If something breaks, I try to fix it before calling a pro or throwing it away.” Which doesn’t always work out as planned.

For example:

A large man stepped onto a stairway and broke it. Never mind that it had already rotted through and was ready to fall apart on its own. If you fell through the steps, and grabbed the handrail for balance, it would have broken off and landed on you.

Blaming someone else for neglect brings more comfort than blaming yourself, no matter what size you might be. When the question gets asked, “Who’s responsible for this,” who steps forward.

Do you?

Break It, Break It Real Good, Then What?

Two presidential statues hit the ground in Portland’s South Park Blocks. One of the museums next to them was broken into the same night. A group claimed responsibility for the statues, but not so loud on the museum work.

Twitter scrolling confirmed the statue group’s aim of bringing awareness to Indigenous Peoples Day Of Rage.

They raged on President Roosevelt and President Lincoln for their positions on indigenous people and pulled their statues down to amplify that awareness to the larger Portland community.

A community newspaper responded to awareness with this:

Windows and glass doors were smashed at the Historical Society’s headquarters, 1200 S.W. Park Ave. According to Portland Police, at least three lit flares were thrown into the structure in an apparent attempt to start fires. The flares went out before causing significant damage. 

The Portland Indian Leaders Roundtable also denounced the vandalism, saying, “The destruction at the Oregon Historical Society was so very disappointing, especially given the great care they have given to their most recent exhibit that displays Native American history so honestly and respectfully. We thank them for their deep consultation with tribal nations to create this exhibit and wish them the best in the repairs to their building.”

Learning moment: know your audience.

People at the bottom of a social structure need help, the sort of help too many government entities ignore. The Oregon Historical Society isn’t one of those entities.

Out of town demonstrators might want to look at a Portland map. The South Park Blocks hold a unique collection of nonprofits. What is a nonprofit? Here to help:

“A nonprofit organization or foundation (NPO), also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In summation, it is a business/corporation that has been given tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) because the further a religious, scientific, charitable, educational, literary, public safety or cruelty-prevention mission or area of work. an organization needs to request 501(c) prior to operating with a tax exemption.

The way I read it, nonprofits are helpful to the people. They’re on our side. Nonprofits do good work. Is there a nonprofit organization for statue removal?

His (Portland Mayor Wheeler) opponent on the November ballot, Iannarone, said much the same thing as part of a statement supporting a public process for removing problematic public art. 

“People are hurting and that pain is valid. But anonymous acts of destruction outside of any agreed-upon process are toxic, unaccountable behavior that has no place in our city,” Iannarone said Monday.

Breaking Things And Walking Away

In antique stores from Sellwood to Aurora the same rule applies: You break it, you buy it, with a repair store around the corner.

Breaking statues off their bases and walking away leaves the maintenance work to others. It’s dangerous rigging up fallen statues, but more dangerous pulling them down. In all the excitement on the video, safety looks like an after thought.

No one wants to keep score of downed statues vs squashed people.

If You’re Breaking Things, Make An Effort To Fix It

It starts with a need, then willpower, then material. What’s next? A plan.

I saw that stairway and thought, “Now what?” It looked complicated in a way construction done at any angle other than a right angle looks complicated. It looked like it needed special skills to make it better. A professional? Not yet.

Once you start breaking things and leaving the mess, it catches up. That becomes the lens you see the world through. One big mess. And you wouldn’t be wrong.

Good mental health means balancing things like pulling statues down and creating a better forum for statue removal. Show your homework by making a request that can’t be ignored. When it is ignored, make a better request.

Pulling down statues and breaking into a museum got national attention, now make it worthwhile. Start a constructive dialogue. It could turn out better than anyone expected.

Does Better Than Expected Ever Happen?

It’s worth the effort to try.