Your Repsonse to Tragedy

Last night, in a historic Charleston church, nine people were murdered in cold blood.  A small group praying in church.  A stranger joins them then opens fire.  The murderer is white.  The victims were black.

image from Emmanuel AME Church

Last November, I attended Renovation Church's panel discussion on racial tensions in America.  I took copious notes on what the panelists had to say, but there was one topic that is particularly relevant today.  When asked what she wants most from her white sisters, panelist Pamela Stringfield said this.

LeCrae said our society has lost the art of lamenting. We read the stories and hear the news and move on to argue about it. At the end of he say, I don't care how right you are. I want people to care about what's going on, to share thoughts and questions, to say this isn't how it's supposed to be, and to actually cry. I grieve that we are pitted against each other because this is not how it was supposed to be.

When you see something wrong, take a stand against it.  Say it isn't right.  Grieve with the victims, or in this situation, the group of people who've been hurt and frightened.  When you don't, what other conclusion are you allowing others to draw other than you don't care?  If you're living in America, you are a part of the healing of racial tensions.  The way I see it, either you act intentionally and aid in the healing, you openly breed hostility and you hinder the healing, or your do nothing and you remain one of the reasons   whether you act intentionally or not and whether you aid in the healing or detract from it.  This is one of those cases where all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.

It's awful that these people were killed.  Absolutely horrific.  It's awful that we have yet another act of terrible white on black hate crime.  All of it, all of it is wrong.  I hate it, my heart hurts for the victims' families, friends, church, community, and city.