Shelly Fairchild

This is the first thing that pops up when you type “crimes against the elderly” into a google search: “Burglary, robbery, and fraud are the crimes most frequently committted against the elderly. Older individuals placed in extended care facilities may be physically abused or defrauded of personal possessions by staff members.”

Not that it does any good, but I sit and weep. How can this be? How is there so much hate in this world? We have everything we could ever need from the earth and yet we take more and more to the point of destroying it. We want the most “it” car and the best designer bag and shoes. We spend thousands of dollars a year on botox and hair color. The cost of a gel or dip manicure is UNREAL these days and yet we have to have them… right?! We pay our football players 50 million dollars to run up and down a field with a ball.

The U.S. News World Report says, “someone turning age 65 today has almost a 70% chance of needing some type of long-term care, and 20% of people will need it for longer than five years, according to LongTermCare.gov. The average cost of nursing home care is so high that the cost of that care can financially cripple a family.”

Reports of hate incidents against the Asian community are said to have increased 135.2% from 2010 to 2022, and this includes the elderly.

The FBI reports that the black people are the victims of hate crimes more than any other group.

Over 60% of hate crime victims are targeted because of racial, ethnic, or ancestral bias says The Boston Globe.

Anti-Latino/anti-Hispanic crimes are on the rise.

Hate crimes against people based on sexual orientation have risen exponentially every year. 

Hate is everywhere. And we are making TikTok videos for hours a day. Worrying about how our clothes fit us and if we are going to drink alcohol during the week or only on the weekends. Our children are rising up against us. There is rebellion and lack of empathy everywhere. And our helpers are going away. They are programming robots to care for our elderly and our children. 

If there was ever a time to do the hardest work of our lives for change, it is now. We can’t just sit and do nothing. We can’t just be sad and do nothing. We can’t just hope someone else does the hard work for us. WE have to do it. WE have to invest the money that we make..back into this world that we are continuing to create. WE have to pour our time and our concentrated effort into teaching those that are coming up behind us how to care for us and for this world that we live in. 

I’m not going to lie….I am scared. I’m trying to figure out how not to be…but I am frightened of what we have created and continue to create. I grew up in a small town with parents who cared about who I was in the world. They taught me right from wrong and they worked very hard to help me to understand how to love and care for the people and the world around me. I was also born a very sensitive soul. I don’t get it all right by any means, but I am working on it. And I pray for our world. 

My heart is broken for the students, friends, and family of the great vocal guru Barbara Maier Gustern who tragically died in NYC this month at 87 years old after being brutally shoved onto the sidewalk by a heartless 26 year old socialite for absolutely no reason. 

My heart is broken about Ahmaud Arbery and the white supremacy that has never gone away. 

My heart continues to break for each name that is added to the list. The senseless, heartless acts of those who fear no God nor justice. Fear no authority. And my heart breaks that so many of our authoritative figures and systems are corrupt themselves. Full of power that is used for evil, not good. 

Evil is real. Call it what you want, but It seeks to steal, kill, and destroy us…and it’s doing a damn good job. 

But evil WILL NOT WIN. It will try to forever. But…

LOVE WILL WIN. LOVE will always win.

S*