It is so very troubling when violence erupted in the
aftermath of the shooting of Michael Brown.
It is troubling when any city experiences riots to the point where the
National Guard needs to be called in.
But perhaps it is more
troubling when violence does not break out.
Wait, what?
Violence
does not break out over the tens of thousands of people killed by guns, drugs, beatings,
murder and intimidation, by preventable means.
Violence does not break out when death occurs along racial or gender or
economic lines. Only one case in how
many will spark some kind of reaction, violent or otherwise.
And
we are not talking about cop violence, teen on teen violence, violence in the commitment
of a felony, domestic violence, or any one bit of the violent spectrum. So many will die and, except for family and
friends, and maybe a sound bite, it will pass unnoticed.
I
don’t know if violence has hardened us or broken us down or simply led us to
wall off our emotions to any reaction.
We are apathetic and helpless. It
is ‘the cost of doing business’ in life today.
Even in Ferguson, the issue is racial, not violent. White cop kills black kid. Did it turn violent from the shooting itself,
but from the aftermath?
For
hours, the body was visible on the street.
It shook that community’s apathy and helplessness. It released pent up frustration and
anger. And if we don’t find another way
to release that energy, we will have nothing to deal with but violence.
Lord,
help us to find another way to deal with the cruelty and inhumanity of the
sinful world in which we live. Amen.
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