Central Camera

I woke up to the news this morning that Central Camera had been looted and burned. I’ve been in a state of shock and sadness ever since. Looting and riots had always been one of those things that I read about in the news but it was always somewhere else. Now it was affecting a store that was one of my favorite places in Chicago. I would make an excuse to head there essentially anytime I was in the Loop. It’s hard to imagine this place I care about being torched.

There’s a deeper sadness for me, though. While I don’t agree with the tactics of rioting, I at least understand them. Rioting is the result of the failure to listen to quieter expressions of frustration. That’s a natural response. If one isn’t being heard while trying to talk quietly, one turns up the volume. Sadly, for a large portion of our population, talking in quiet tones about their grievances has not worked and the volume is now being turned up. Are we finally going to try to listen?

The Ken Burns Civil War documentary is one of my favorite pieces of film, ever. I remember in the final installment, professor Barbara Fields made a statement that seemed utterly insane to me the first few times I watched it: “The Civil War is still going on. It’s still to be fought and regrettably it can still be lost.” I didn’t understand that at first but as I’ve grown older, it’s made more and more sense to me. Yes, blue soldiers and grey soldiers fighting battles against one another ended in 1865. But the fallout from the institution of slavery has never fully been healed, 155 years later.

Two videos really brought that to light this week for me. One was obviously the George Floyd incident. I still can not comprehend a suspect being slowly choked to death. Floyd was accused of a non-violent crime (forgery). He was already in handcuffs. There were three other officers present. Had he been physically resisting, I’m guessing that 4 officers could have subdued a handcuffed man without resorting to kneeling on his throat for 8 minutes. None of the other officers intervened which speaks volumes to the fact that this isn’t a lone rogue cop but a systemic problem.

The other video that also caught my attention was the video of Amy Cooper reacting to Chris Cooper for requesting her to put her dog on a leash. The entitled, racist response by “Central Park Karen” after a simple request to follow the rules of the park by a bird watcher also trying to enjoy the park is precisely what Professor Fields meant when she said that the Civil War could still be lost. There are different norms throughout the country based on the color of one’s skin.

As a middle class white guy, it never really occurs to me that arrest or even death could be on the line for doing something as simple as watching birds. I went out hiking yesterday. I didn’t give it a second thought. It was just something enjoyable for me. Chris Cooper’s video shows that doing something as simple as that can evoke strongly negative reactions if the color of my skin were different. The George Floyd video proves that when the cops come in that situation, there’s still no guarantee that those who are sworn to serve and protect will honor that vow without prejudice.

I wish I knew what the answer was. I don’t even know where to start. This seems like something so monumentally huge that it’s hard to figure out a starting point, let alone find a solution. I think Don Flesch, owner of Central Camera, provides one place to start, though. Instead of anger, his response was filled with love, understanding, humor and resolve. Watch it here.

While I can’t deny that there’s a part of me that just enjoys the atmosphere of old school camera stores like Central Camera, I’m most drawn to support small business owners like this. I certainly hope that Mr. Flesch and Central Camera can come back. If we’re to find answers to the problems facing our society, we need people like him out there providing a light in the darkness.

There is a GoFundMe for Central Camera available here if you’d like to support an amazing, historic business owned by an outstanding and caring gentleman.