The Sounds of (Minneapolis) Silence

In the face of this week’s horrific school shooting in Minneapolis, it occurs to me that there are two kinds of silence.

One is a silence of denial, apathy, or callous indifference. “Don’t look at it; don’t talk about it, just move on.” “Just keeps happening, nothing to be done, nothing can be done. Forget it.” In Simon and Garfunkel’s classic, “The Sounds of Silence,” there’s a line that about such silences. “Silence like a cancer spreads.”

More recently there is the phrase that showed up on signs at marches protesting police violence. “Silence is Violence.” And, a call to not be silent, to “Say Her Name,” meaning speak the name of the victim. Don’t let her be forgotten.

Yes, silence can be a form not only of a hardened heart or fearful denial, but also a form of complicity with evil. Silence in the face of the ICE dragnets and thuggery directed against immigrants who are not criminals but contributing members of the community is the silence that “like a cancer spreads.”

https://www.postalley.org/2025/08/31/the-sounds-of-minneapolis-silence/