When The Jackals Come Out At Night

Slide the curtain apart just enough so you can see outside. Are they out there? They are probably in the shadows; they always seem to be just outside the periphery of our sight. Can you see their eyes reflecting the moonlight? The yellow orbs, twin beacons of misery, shining from those same shadows; can you see them?

Can you smell the blood? Can you smell the coppery scent? Can you see the blood of their latest victims dripping from their teeth?

How do you feel when you see them? Admit it; you feel relief mixed with fear, right? Relief and gratitude that you are not their latest victim and yes, there is always fear. Do you feel it now?

Don’t you dare open that door. I don’t care if you can see them or not; they are out there. They are always out there, and all of your prayers and incantations will not make them disappear. You can pray to whichever god you choose, you can light candles and chant, and you can double and triple lock your doors, but they will still be there waiting for you and others like you. They always have been and they always will be.

Sunrise will be here soon, and with it we will all release a sigh of relief. We made it through another night. We heard the sirens in the distance. We might have even heard the screams and the weeping, but sunlight is now here and it is all, once again, forgotten.

It is daylight now. Wrap up your young ones, paint that smile on your face, and go out into the world, for all is well, right? The jackals have gone back to the darkness for another day. Hurry now; so much to do and darkness will return. It always returns…..hurry!

Can you hear them? Listen closely to their whispered voices out there in the dark

“He isn’t like us; don’t associate with people of his kind. They breed like rabbits and they are unclean. Stay away from them, now!”

What a goddamn pagan she is. Do you know that she doesn’t believe in Jesus Christ? What kind of human being doesn’t believe in our Savior? May God have mercy on their souls, but in the meantime, just keep your distance from them.”

“Have you heard about that guy? He’s one of them; you know, he sleeps with other guys. He ought to be strung up by his thumbs in the town square so we can all spit on him. It ain’t natural you hear me? Don’t you dare go near him now; he’s unholy and perverted.”

“See that black girl over there? She’s lazy just like they all are. See how different she is? I’m telling you, this country is going to hell because of her and her kind. Ship them all to Liberia and the sooner the better. Maybe then we won’t be spending billions on those social services programs that just make everything worse.”

“Look at that fat pig of a woman. Doesn’t she have any respect for herself? Honest to God, someone should tell her how embarrassing she is. Maybe then she would get off her dead ass and exercise.”

“Yes, I know he’s unemployed, but he could work if he wanted to. As long as this country keeps giving him a handout then he will be quite satisfied to keep taking it. He’s probably a drunk or a stoner; they all are you know.”

“I heard that kid flunked out of fifth grade and he’s being held back. Probably retarded if you ask me! Don’t hang around him during recess, okay? We don’t want you knowing people like that, honey.”

Do you see them yet? Look closely; dawn is coming and it’s a little lighter out now. You should be able to see them now. See, over there, at the edge of the lawn….

See the white girl, and next to her the black guy. There’s a Mexican and behind him is a Korean. Ooh, look at the tall one wearing the Armani suit, and look at that poor s.o.b. wearing the Goodwill rags. It’s hard to tell one from the other, isn’t it?

It’s hard to tell, isn’t it, because they look just like you and I, but look closely at the hatred in their eyes. Look closely at the vindictive drippings from their lips. Look closely at the lack of compassion and tolerance that reflects from their skin and radiates outward until they infect all those around them.

It’s all okay now; the sun is rising and they will slink back to their lairs until the sun sets once again.

What are we going to do? We can keep living behind locked doors. We can acknowledge that the jackals do exist, and live the lie that everything will be alright as long as we don’t let them in.

We can breathe a sigh of relief when they attack another victim, satisfied that this time it wasn’t us.

We can sit among ourselves, and decry the brutality that the jackals represent, and pat each other on our backs for discussing the problem with earnestness.

Or………

We can wait until nightfall and unlock our doors. We can open our doors and step out on the porch. We can stand there and face the jackals, and we can declare that we are no longer afraid of them and we will no longer allow them to spread their hatred.

We can stand there as one, safe in the knowledge that we greatly outnumber the jackals, and declare that what happens to one of us happens to all, and we can protect those who cannot protect themselves, for that is an act of humanity worth being proud of.

Yes, that is what we can do!

Yes, that is what we must do!

The sun is setting again. What will you do? Will you stand with me on that porch in the moonlight, and declare to all jackals that they are no longer welcome in our neighborhood?

Will you do that with me?

One word of caution: As you stand on the porch, look back inside your own home. There might just be a jackal in there hiding.

2013 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)