Constancy

 

Annapolis to host wreath-laying to honor five-year remembrance of Capital Gazette shooting victims, Brooks DuBose, Capital Gazette

As mass shootings continue, more than 150 since Capital Gazette attack, victims’ families see deaths as call for action, Luke Parker, Capital Gazette

Five years after the Capital Gazette murders, we’ve scattered. Remembering brings us together. Rick Hutzell, Baltimore Banner

5 years after Capital Gazette shooting, survivors and families begin to heal, but scars remain: ‘Moving with the pain’, Alex Mann, Baltimore Sun

Journalists Matter: Faces of the Capital Gazette, a Photo Exhibit of the Lives Impacted, Paul Gillespie

Today there will be a ceremony in Annapolis to mark the fifth anniversary of the slaughter of five journalists at The Capital Gazette. The ceremony will take place at the memorial erected by the city after the mass shooting that took the lives of Gerald Fischman, Rob Hiaasen, John McNamara, Rebecca Smith, and Wendi Winters. There will be a wreath-laying, speakers, poetry reading, and music. And there will be silence - - to remember and reflect.

 Photo credit Brian Witte, AP

The name of this memorial is Guardians of the First Amendment. I think that’s important. The monument honors not only the people who were lost but the mission that they served: a Free Press to support the functioning of Democracy. One way to honor them is to support local journalism. Read the above articles if you can. Pay for newspaper subscriptions if you can afford to.

The First Amendment provides that Congress make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting its free exercise. It protects freedom of speech, the press, assembly, and the right to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - - whitehouse.gov

My perspective on the Capital shooting has been shaped largely by one man: Paul Gillespie, Capital photographer and survivor of the shooting. His Twitter account over the last five years has detailed a journey of grief, survival, recovery, and insight. Newspaper turnover these days is so high that Gillespie is the only member of the staff that existed five years ago who is still working at the Capital today.

Gillespie created his own sort of memorial, a series of photographs entitled Journalists Matter: Faces of the Capital Gazette, A Photo Exhibit of the Lives Impacted. It has been on display in various locations in the area but as of yet has no permanent home. (It is available to view online at the link shared above.) The impact of his photos is every bit as holy as the monument in Annapolis. 

If grief were a sacrament, this collection could be its church. 

Gillespie, a 22 year veteran of the Capital Gazette and his wife, writer for the Maryland State Comptroller and former journalist Jennifer Donatelli, share snippets of their day-to-day lives on Twitter. Over time I have come to look forward to their posts. A running feature is Ms. Donatelli’s weekly visit to church and Mr. Gillespie’s reliable follow-up.

How was church?

Good.

Was it about constancy?

Usually it isn’t about constancy but he always asks. Just in case. 

After a few of these I looked up constancy to make sure it meant what I thought it did. 

Constancy: steadfastness of mind under duress : fortitude

Fidelity, loyalty

Today I will be thinking about Paul Gillespie and all the survivors of the Capital Gazette shooting. I will be mourning the loss of five innocent people whose dedication to local journalism put them in the line of fire of a hateful gunman. Most of all I will be thinking of constancy: the steadfastness of mind under duress that travels with all of the survivors, each in their own way.

And like Paul Gillespie, who signs off on many of his tweets this way, I ask: be kind.

Village Green/Town² Comments