Listen; don't be silent; be compassionate

By David Bornstein

It’s been a long time since the last Good Word column, but I find myself driven — compelled — to write something during these painful, difficult days. I don’t want this to be another “jump on the bandwagon” proof of conscience statement, or another in the long litany of “we are not racist but can do better” epiphanies of the moment. And the truth is, I wouldn’t be writing were it not for a confluence of incidents that swirled around me recently that provoked me and forced me to write.

I heard two stories from two different friends, neither of whom are black or brown, both of...