12 years ago today* I was attacked by three teenagers with guns who followed me to my friend’s house.
!! Stop reading if this is going to upset you. !!
What happened was bad, but I’m positive I talked my way out of being murdered.
So if you think I’m a confident person, it’s because nothing in my daily life is as scary as that experience. Going live on Facebook or starting a new business is a cakewalk compared to what these guys did to me.
I’ll give you one guess what I did after, to try to help everyone deal with it, and to try to steer the neighborhood conversation in a positive direction.
I threw a party.
With the help of some friends, I organized a benefit party for us with bands and DJs, and I invited a bunch of restorative justice organizations to set up info tables.
The party was packed, and some local politicians came, which was great because I had the platform to tell them what changes I wanted to see in our community.
That was especially important because some other people had started up a neighborhood watch type organization that didn’t stand for what I stood for, and they were trying to co-opt my story.
That’s the magic of throwing a party. You can change minds and influence people by bringing them together for a good time. You can own your story by curating the experience. You can raise money and awareness. You can help people heal.
So here we are now and I’m back at it again, encouraging YOU to PARTY HARD so you can help lots of people and make lots of money.
By the way, I’m fine. I wouldn’t have even realized what today was if I didn’t see it in my Facebook Memories. PTSD is real though, if if you’re dealing with it, I see you.
*This event happened on December 4, 2008. I wrote this as a Facebook post on December 4, 2020.
