We call ourselves the hiking club; Camryn, Lily, Lucy, and me. Striving to escape the everyday horrors of a global pandemic, we decided to go on a peaceful hike in order to disconnect from reality. We walked in Lorimer Park discussing virtual school, good movies we’ve watched recently, and just about anything that good friends talk about when they catch up. We found ourselves straying off the trail and into the rocky hills above the lake, as we discussed everything under the sun. For two hours we walked, climbed, and got lost in a good conversation.

We never took notice of the fact that we had no reception. The little bars in the left hand corner of our phones were nonexistent and we were disconnected from the surrounding world. But we hiked on completely clueless…

As we started to turn around we realized we were lost. Despite the sparks of worry that appeared occasionally, we simply turned back around and tried to retrace our steps. We looked for landmarks and anything that could help us return to the beginning of the trail. No one paid any attention to their phones. We were focused on getting back. 

Finally, with teamwork we found the beginning of the trail. We collected ourselves, simply relieved that we found our way. As we continued on the paved path back to the parking lot that we came from, and the bars on our phones slowly filled up. Buzz! Buzz! Buzz! Noises were spurting from all over the place and the sound of buzzes were definitely not from the bees. It was coming from our phones, something had clearly happened. 

This wasn’t the regular amount of notifications that you get when your phone reconnects. 

I first saw a notification from Mr. Quigley in the google classroom for The Abingtonian. It wasn’t a regular English assignment or a check in for the newspaper.

Lucy saw a notification from her sister. It wasn’t a normal text about how school or what they’re having for dinner. 

And that’s when we knew something was awry. All four of us frantically checked the news, Lucy being the first one to find a news story from CNN, reading, “US Capitol Breached”. We all gasped. Each taking turns reading what we could find about what’s going on in our country, we shared looks of disappointment and shock. 

I’m not here to give you a blow-by-blow of what happened this afternoon, but I am here to talk about it. 

Me and my three friends were disconnected, we had no connection, we had no idea of what was going on in our nation’s capitol. We had no idea that there were riots outside of the Capitol building. We were simply hiking. Having the time of our lives, not worried about a single thing besides the fact that we may be lost in Lorimer Park. For two hours we didn’t have to worry about the racist, homophobic, xenophobic bigots that broke into the Capitol building. For those two hours we were shielded from the terrible acts that took place in our country, and let me tell you, it was the best two hours that I had in awhile.

The funny thing is, me and my three friends shared something in common with the rioters today. We were all disconnected. My friends and I through our phones. The rioters, in their brains. 

Unfortunately the people that committed these horrible acts today have some sort of disconnect with empathy. They have a disconnect with common sense, a disconnect with the difference between politics and basic human rights, and they have a disconnect to society. It wasn’t only Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol, it was terrorists, and in their acts of terror they attacked the whole country of America and opened everyone’s eyes to the harsh reality of our country’s major issues. 

The main issue that many people including myself took notice to was how these terrorists were treated. Police took selfies with these monsters, and the police opened the doors to allow the terrorists to infiltrate.

Yet on the day that the peaceful protest for Black Lives Matter took place on the same steps that these terrorists attacked, police tear gassed, shot, and protested right back.

Again, my three friends and I, the terrorists, and the police who responded to the incident today all had something in common. We were disconnected. My friends and I with our phones, the terrorists in their brains, and now the police with equality. 

If you can’t see the difference with how people are treated based on the color of their skin, you have a disconnect too. There was clear white privilege shown today. 

Like many people are saying, “make it make sense”. Someone please help me understand how it is justified to allow police to abuse and kill people of color during mostly peaceful protests but then encourage whites to attack our democracy with a riot far from a peaceful gathering. 

I’ll say it again… make it make sense. 

But the police can’t do that. Why? Because they have a disconnect. They don’t have a reason for reacting differently. Some are simply racist, white supremacists. 

Let me tell you something, me and my three friends are not disconnected anymore. We are going to do anything we can to change our country. 

I do not want to spread hate like the rioters and some of the police. They have performed horrific acts that I cannot forgive them for, but I want to help them. I want to help connect them with empathy, equality, and love. There’s a big disconnect in this country, one we simply can not ignore. Let’s refill those bars together.