Engaging in a Narrative of Violence

A Tweet made by Yoko Ono Lennon on the anniversary of John's death.

Aside from his musical career, John Lennon is most prominently remembered as a peace activist.  Thus, it is ironic and somewhat saddening that Lennon lost his life in such a violent way.

On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed outside of his apartment building: The Dakota on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  The world was truly shocked by his death, especially at the relatively young age of 40.  Lennon's death had a profound impact on the world, thus leading New York City and other areas to create memorials for him.  Some of these memorials, such as the "Imagine" mosaic in the Strawberry Fields section of Central Park, and the "SKY" mosaic are physical, tactile places where fans and even passersby can simply exist in a space dedicated to him.  But the memorialization of Lennon has transcended from simply physical memorials to digital ones, and they even engage with discussions contemporary society is having.

This image was posted on Twitter by Lennon's widow, Yoko Ono Lennon, on the anniversary of his murder.  The image depicts John Lennon's glasses, covered in his now-dried blood from the night he was killed, looking out over Central Park.  The glasses are symbolic and indicative of the man who wore them.  Ono Lennon tweeted the image out in order to weigh in on the gun violence debate in America, particularly where mass shootings and school shootings are concerned.  Given the image was posted with the #StopGunViolence, along with the fact that she lost her husband to gun violence, it can be assumed that Ono Lennon was coming out in support of gun control with this post.

Ono Lennon is not the only person who used her personal connection to Lennon to opine on the gun violence debate in the United States.  Sir Paul McCartney, a former bandmate of Lennon's, was seen at the New York City March for Our Lives on March 24, 2018.  When asked why he was there, McCartney answered, "One of my best friends was killed in gun violence right around here, so it’s important to me."

This phenomenon of using a dead person's experience to weigh in on contemporary politics justifies my reasoning of evaluating John Lennon in the era and lens of #MeToo and #TimesUp.  If his experience can be used to weigh in on the gun violence debate, it can also most certainly apply to the conversation of how abusive and powerful men maintain their power in the public memory, and how the narratives of women are silenced.