John Grisham: Silence Is Not An Option'

An article in this week's Time online by John Grisham, author of Pelican Brief and The Firm, who has lived in Charlottesville for 24 years:

Charlottesville is a quiet town with friendly people, good schools, lots of churches, parks and a bustling, growing community that more or less revolves around one of the country's great public universities. Volunteerism is rampant, and dozens of nonprofits hustle about, solving problems and helping those in need. The town is surrounded by the estate and horse country of central Virginia, where history and traditions are important. Change is important too. The town has a vibrant music, theater, art and literary culture where creativity is encouraged. Food and wine are taken seriously, with dozens of vineyards and trendy restaurants.

The downtown pedestrian mall is filled with these restaurants, as well as coffee shops, bars, outdoor cafés, music halls, bookstores, galleries. It's peaceful, calm, lovely, civilized. It's Charlottesville.

The weekend of Aug. 12, Charlottesville was violated.

[snip]

Tensions are now easing, and the streets are quiet again. Funerals are being planned. Physical wounds are healing. Emotional wounds will take longer. We hope and pray our town returns to normal — it will if left alone. But twice this summer, Charlottesville has proved that in the face of intimidation and hate, silence is not an option.

http://time.com/4904272/john-grisham-charlottesville-a-town-violated/

Note: This is the first topic I've posted on DU, though I read a lt here. I hope I followed the rules for posting.