A Story Shared by:
David B. Los Angeles

After the 9/11 attacks, some of my coworkers posted distasteful cartoons in the office. They were smeared with racial slurs and depicted acts of violent retaliation. Having supported VOV programs in the Detroit school system, I knew couldn’t let this animosity pollute the atmosphere and fester in our hearts.

I asked the owner of the company for permission to host a peace lunch. She courageously accepted my offer on the philosophical grounds that we would not let a tragedy persuade us to discriminate broadly against fellow American’s or their businesses because of the violent acts of a few.

Throughout the week, I posted pithy quotes on peace, justice and humanism in defiance of the comics. On Friday, I catered in lunch from various ethnic restaurants. The first was a Lebanese feast to represent the Middle East.

I invited my uncle Joe who is Catholic Armenian Lebanese. His grandparents were killed by Muslims during the Lebanese Civil War and later his daughter married a Muslim man by the name of Muhammad. They endearingly call him “Mo.” Joe loves to talk. His stories had the entire office sitting quietly (when they weren’t laughing in an uproar) in the kitchen, hanging on to his every word.

By the end of the meal, everyone was in high spirits and heavy with delicious food. My uncle had a wonderful time and we continued to hold the peace lunches for a few months. Not only did it allow everyone to broaden their tastes and perspectives, it brought a number of our coworkers together.

This is my story of victory over violence.

“All sorrows are less with bread.”
—Miguel de Cervantes

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
—Virginia Woolf