The Peace Hat

Gabriel made this adorable hat in school. It's basically a headband that has a dove that is made out of a paper plate. It's his "peace" hat that they made in honor of MLK, Jr. day. He brought it home on Thursday and he's been wearing it for at least 20 minutes every day since then. Yesterday he asked me if tomorrow (today) was a holiday.

me- Yes it is.
Gabriel- It's Martin Luther King Day right?
me- yes, like you colored in your homework
Gabriel- Will he be here?
me- Well no honey, it's not like Christmas, it's just a day that we celebrate a good person.
Gabriel- Where is he?
me- He died, honey.
Gabriel- How did he die? Did somebody shoot him?
me- Yes, how did you know that.
Gabriel- We talked about it in school. Why did somebody shoot him, was he a bad guy?
me- No- not at all. He was a very good man.

(At this point, e-husband and Alex were this exchange. Curious about where it was going.)
Gabriel- Who shot him?
me- A very bad man.
Gabriel- Why did he shoot him? What did he do to make him mad?
me- He wanted different things
Gabriel- Like Spiderman, he wanted to help people, and the Goblin wanted to hurt people?

I was quiet for a moment, wondering how I would explain this to Gabriel. Could I explain to him the hate and ignorance in people's hearts. Would he understand that people hated people for the color of thier skin? Should I even make color an issue, because currently Gabriel understands that some people have different skin color, just like they have different hair color and eye color. The difference is what makes us all special. I looked at the e-husband, unsure what to say next. Gabe was looking at me, waiting for my answer. He is so sweet, so innocent in his thinking. I remembered that it's often adults that teach children how to hate, it's adults that teach children the horrible truths about life. So I smiled at him and said, "Yes honey. Just like Spiderman- but without webs."

He smiled and said, "Do you like my hat mommy?"

I hugged him tight and said, "Yes honey. I really do."