This morning in our local newspaper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, I read a piece about "A Gang of Killers..." about a horrible gang killling a year ago. In it Kevin Riorden spoke words of wisdom which we all need to hear and take to heart in this day and age. Yes, the description of the torture and murders of the two victims was revolting, and it will stay with me much longer than I would wish. But when he reported that some were calling the perpetrators cockroaches, I was reminded of the genocide in Ruanda and Burundi. Over and over the message was sent out via radio, "Kill the cockroaches! Rid our country of these pests!" inciting neighbors to hack down neighbors. Closer to home I am reminded of Abu Gahraib, the facility we, Americans, used in Iraq for torture and, yes, even, murder of detainees. This kind of dehumanization is never appropriate.
In the article is a quote from the movie Chinatown by a malevolent millionaire, "Most people never have to face that fact that at the right time and the right place they are capable of ... anything." This is a needed reminder that all of us are capable of terrible things, thank goodness most of us never find out what we are capable of under the "right" (or wrong) circumstances. It is painful to remember that less than 100 years ago people, mostly African-American men, were lynched by mobs of average US citizens. (In fact, the last recorded lynching was in 1964!)
I know from my own life, now that I have almost reached 60, that I have done things, maybe not great evil, but bad things, most often unintentionally, but not always. When I search my heart, I know I am, essentially, no different from others who have done worse. When there is a cultural shift, when it becomes acceptable to call people names in public, especially dehumanizing names, it is a slippery slope, especially in economic hard times, to what happened in Germany. Hold people accountable for their actions. Do not begin to act like them, not even in the smallest ways by dehumanizing them verbally, not even in our rage and sorrow.
Fortunately, the reverse of the movie quote is also true. We are capable of compassion, seeing through stereotypes and taking action, brave, caring action in the right circumstances, or even the wrong ones. Let us seek, together, to reinforce this in each other, to encourage and inspire each other. I am reminded of another quote, one of my favorites from Mother Theresa, "What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."
In the article is a quote from the movie Chinatown by a malevolent millionaire, "Most people never have to face that fact that at the right time and the right place they are capable of ... anything." This is a needed reminder that all of us are capable of terrible things, thank goodness most of us never find out what we are capable of under the "right" (or wrong) circumstances. It is painful to remember that less than 100 years ago people, mostly African-American men, were lynched by mobs of average US citizens. (In fact, the last recorded lynching was in 1964!)
I know from my own life, now that I have almost reached 60, that I have done things, maybe not great evil, but bad things, most often unintentionally, but not always. When I search my heart, I know I am, essentially, no different from others who have done worse. When there is a cultural shift, when it becomes acceptable to call people names in public, especially dehumanizing names, it is a slippery slope, especially in economic hard times, to what happened in Germany. Hold people accountable for their actions. Do not begin to act like them, not even in the smallest ways by dehumanizing them verbally, not even in our rage and sorrow.
Fortunately, the reverse of the movie quote is also true. We are capable of compassion, seeing through stereotypes and taking action, brave, caring action in the right circumstances, or even the wrong ones. Let us seek, together, to reinforce this in each other, to encourage and inspire each other. I am reminded of another quote, one of my favorites from Mother Theresa, "What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful."
