Stoking Fear and Encouraging Violence

Every time I open my computer or phone I am blasted with an endless stream of information, much of it concerning, even horrifying. And every time I go to Facebook I want to say something, but what? I can't focus. I can't mold my thoughts into words that address adequately all that I am reading and seeing. So I close my computer or phone and walk away with my thoughts stuck in limbo and feeling like a coward.

So instead of addressing all.the.things (for there are too many to count), I am going to share one thing. ONE.

This past weekend I read We Are Charleston: Tragedy and Triumph at Mother Emmanuel. This book was written by a history professor, a journalist, and a poet and it details the horrific murder of 9 church members at Mother Emmanuel AME Church on June 17, 2015 by white supremacist Dylan Roof, as well as touching on the history of slavery, the Black church (and the formation of the AME denomination), reconstruction, Jim Crow, civil rights, and the implications that all of this had on the congregation of Mother Emmanuel and those who were killed. For everything happens within the context of history.

One thing that really stuck out to me were the words that Dylan Roof spoke as he stood to fire his gun:

"I have to do this. You rape our women, and you're taking over our country. And you have to go."

He was speaking this to a group of 12 people. Nine were women, most were considerably older, and all were pillars of their community.

Two things struck me:

1.) This is the age old accusation of Black men. "You rape our women." That was the standard accusation used by all sorts of violence against Black men and boys (think Emmett Till). That was the fear driven by the 1915 film, Birth of a Nation, that sparked a rise in the activity of the Klan. You spark violence by fanning the flames of fear. Even if that fear is unwarranted. (The reality is that white male owners raped their slaves for centuries with no repercussions whatsoever. "Every accusation is a confession"?)

2.) These words sound exactly like what I am hearing today about immigrants. I cannot tell you how many times I see posts about the horrific things immigrants have done to "real Americans," always with "they would be here today if it weren't for these illegals here." The current regime claims that they are going after violent offenders. And yet over 70% of ICE arrests are of people who have NO record of any offense.

If you can rationalize the hideous treatment of the immigrant community because a few American citizens have been killed by a few illegal immigrants, then you can rationalize Dylan Roof killing the pillars of the Charleston Black community.

The person should be held accountable for the crime. Not the community. After all, isn't this the argument when it comes to gun violence? "Don't take our rights away because of the action of one person!" And that is even though noone is taking your rights away should gun control laws be tightened to something more reasonable.

What this really is is the black and white thinking writ large on entire populations. Maybe this is where the "One of ours, all of yours" mindset comes in.

But does that hold up? Do the wicked actions of one person or one group of people mean that all that fit that category are guilty by association?

-Should we oust every person with Italian ancestry because the Mafia originated in Sicily?

-Should we lock up all former members of the US Army because Timothy McVey killed 168 people when he bombed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City?

-Should we ban men from positions of ministry because of the thousands of reports (not to mention all of the unreported incidents) or sexual assault within churches?

As you can see, that would be ridiculous. As ridiculous as it is to target entire communities of people who are here working hard to make a new life for themselves just like ALL of our ancestors did at one time (unless you are 100% indigenous).

All I am saying in this mixed-up, frazzled rant is that there is nothing new. This is nothing new. Those in power in our country have used double standards and the rhetoric of fear and disgust to excuse their own behavior while fanning the flames of fear and suspicion since before we were a country.

And this kind of rhetoric, this kind of demonizing of entire people groups, this kind of dehumanizing language against those created in the image of God, only leads to violence.

And if you don't stand up to it now, one day you may be on the receiving end. And I doubt you'll like it. 

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A Tidy Life

 I’ve always been a bit of a disappointment. A misfit toy. Someone who, more often than not, resided somewhere outside the box. 

I haven’t always had the tidiest of lives. 

In my younger years, a tidy life meant that you were thought well of by the neighbors and you made your parents proud. Later on in life, as my world revolved around the conservative evangelical church community, a tidy life meant that your theology was right and therefore God wouldn’t be mad at you. 

I didn’t fit the mold as a kid. Or as a teenager. Or as a mother. Or as a wife. Or as a realtor. Or as a Christian. 

No matter the scenario, tidy and I were like oil and water. For a very long time this was a source of shame. 

When you have been on the receiving end of impossible expectations or at least ones that seem impossible for you to meet, you can go one of two ways: you can dish the same out to other people or you can do the opposite and fling your arms wide open. 

I’ve come to the understanding that God has never asked me to be tidy. That was a standard set up by other people due to their own discomfort with disorder, mess, and people in all their fragile humanity. 

And I’ve come to realize that I don’t want a tidy life.

 I want a REAL life. 

I want a life where compassion and curiosity and awe and kindness and understanding are more important than what things look like on the outside or whether or not they check some arbitrary box. 

I want people to feel the freedom to sit with me and let who they are, who they really are, spill out, knowing that there will be no judgment, no fixing, no disappointment. 

I want to understand deeply. 

I want to speak truthfully. And graciously. 

I want to give generously. 

I want to love extravagantly. 

That’s the life I want. 

Tidy be damned.

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