Attending the vigil for Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Portland’s Monument Square on Monday night, I saw a sign in the window of a building across the street: “Who are we?”

Its message struck an unnerving chord. Since yesterday, I’ve seen the best in humanity: people coming together, joining hands, singing in remembrance. 

I’ve also seen the worst. People applauding a fatal shooting and justifying it behind the veil of racism and hatred.

I watched a Maine representative tell us that any death is horrible, then share false information about Guerrero’s immigration status and tell us activists were “capitalizing” on this moment (was this representative not using a tragic event to advance their own agenda?).

The lack of compassion, the lack of empathy on display, is astounding. But the power of both empathy and compassion is also alive and well.

I love Maine. And I feel so much sadness for the victim’s family and the Biddeford community. This loss is bigger than one person, one community and one state.

I mourn the United States, a democratically backsliding country. A country with a government that has brushed off the use of lethal force by immigration agents in our communities. One that justifies its actions under the guise of “security,” “order” or “freedom.”

This is not the country I was raised to believe in.

I thank those who lead with compassion and empathy. And I challenge those who don’t to do better. And I ask everyone to remember Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, and the senseless loss of a husband, father and community member.

Jackson Chadwick
Portland