Stacy is a fictional character. He got to Chicago from Oakland two and a half weeks ago. He’s hotheaded and easily hurt. He pissed off the organizers by not masking and being an intense guy. He’s at every action with his crew. He met most of them after he got to Chicago. They’re always together and share everything. They’re like a family to Stacy.
A few nights ago in Logan Square, Stacy yelled and punched one of his friends in the face, then took off on foot. He showed back up at an action late last night wearing a Stroger Hospital wristband and no mask.
Sugar gave Stacy a fresh surgical mask from her stash and a squirt of hand sanitizer. She decided to get to know him. Stacy said the hospital bracelet was because of a bad asthma attack. Sugar asked if he’d been COVID tested. Stacy said he didn’t know. He disclosed that he’s a medication-dependent diabetic and gets bad asthma attacks when he’s upset. He told Sugar he hates cops. His dad has been in prison almost his whole life. He’s trying not to get arrested at protests anymore. Last time he was in jail, he says, he almost died.
He spent almost two months in Minneapolis after George Floyd was murdered. When “they” – Stacy wouldn’t say who – told him to leave Minneapolis, he traveled with activists to other BLM actions, and got drunk a lot. He got kicked out of the autonomous zone in Seattle. A paramilitary private security firm was somehow involved. The story was too complicated for Sugar to follow. He saw Kyle Rittenhouse shoot the guy with the skateboard in Kenosha. “It’s been a fucked-up year,” Stacy said.
Late last night the police shot a teenager on the southside. The teen is in intensive care. Lots of people are in Logan Square, and everybody here has seen the video. People are angry. The plan was to march to Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s house, but the police are not having it. Hundreds of cops in all-black riot gear with big batons just blocked off the street, outnumbering protesters. A few cops have shotguns. A few have big cans of pepperspray strapped to the fronts of their uniforms.
Everyone’s chanting “Shame!” and Assata’s chant. Stacy’s screaming at one of the shotgun-holding cops. “Fuck you, pig!” he screams. “You can’t kill us anymore! You can’t fucking kill us!” Stacy seems drunk, but Sugar’s pretty sure he hasn’t had a drink since he got out of the hospital. A police lieutenant points at Stacy and says, “He’s first.”
Stacy stands his ground, wheezing so bad he can’t yell. His hands are braced on his knees. He gasps for air but manages to raise one hand long enough to flip off the lieutenant.
What options can emergency medicine offer Stacy? Probe for answers like these:
Emergency medicine can wait until Stacy drops, and maybe save his life.
What can’t emergency medicine offer to Stacy? Let group briefly discuss. Some example answers:
Where else in your city could Stacy get help from a professional? Some example answers:
When the 10 minutes are up, trainer calls small groups into council.
Spokesperson from each small group shares 1-2 insights from their group.
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