I was walking across Lucinda Avenue at noon Tuesday and noticed the signs being held by several students.

The sign I saw first said “Lynching is Illegal.”

I had to agree that the sign was correct.

I asked who was being lynched.

I was told that Police Chief Grady was being lynched.

I wondered how this could be and where was it going to happen.

Then I saw two other signs that had writing on them saying Chief Grady was being lynched. I asked them where the rope was.

I was told that this gathering was about a “public lynching” of the Chief.

I think that at a university there should be clarity in communication.

I know that lynching is murder.

My reading of the Northern Star and the DeKalb Chronicle about the allegations of Chief Grady’s conduct all say that a review panel has been or shortly will be created to review the details of the allegations.

I have not heard that he will be murdered if the review panel should determine that the allegations are substantiated.

Of course, Chief Grady will not be killed, no matter what the outcome of the review.

I have come to two conclusions related to this incident. First, I think that anyone who has had a person close to them murdered would feel that using the above extreme terms makes light of death and the suffering it causes.

Second, I hope to live in a just society.

Justice requires care and understanding and communication with our fellow citizens.

If we reduce ourselves to the point where all we can do is throw accusations and names at each other, I fear for our future.

I want to communicate with people who hold different views than I do since that is the way I learn and grow.

A university setting should be the ideal place for dialogue to begin and continue so that we can all learn and grow, and together build a just society.

Let’s talk.

Lon Clark
NIU Staff

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