@RevJohnHMoore1. @RevDaniel
In light of some recent events I wanted to share an important and, until today, private event from my life. What follows I am only sharing to make a point about recent events and to, I hope, provide a glimpse of sanity in the recent hate and madness.

I am a white man living in a rural southern town that is dominantly white.
Some years ago, before I was a teacher, I stepped out of my house in the morning to go to work.

I live in the woods with no direct access to my home from the road. I do not get "accidental" visitors.

It is also gun country.

I heard a voice from the bushes saying "hey... Hey... Hey..." Which surprised and worried me. When I turned there was a black man covered in scratches and wearing a bloody t shirt.

My immediate impulse was typically white. Fear and violence.

I stopped as I looked at him. He looked scared and lost and confused. I closed the door and walked down the steps asking if he was ok. I forced myself to look past my impulse.

He told me he had been in a fight with his gf and ran away through the woods.

I could see the thorns had torn him and he explained he just wanted to get to his dads house but did not know where he was. The two other houses nearby had chased him off and one had shot at him.

This was a scared and lost man. Nothing more. I was ashamed.

Deeply shamed. My first reaction, after all of my upbringing and vaunted "enlightenment" was violence and this was just a scared human being.

I shook my head and told him not to worry that I would get him where he needed to go. He was surprised.

SURPRISED that a human being would treat him humanely. I called work and told them I had an emergency and was going to be late. It took us 15 minutes to find a road he knew and then we got to his dads house.

He thanked me for getting him home.

I think of him often and the conversation we had as we found his dads place.

This is the reality. We whites have a problem. I know if it had been a white man in my yard I would have had a different impulse. I am happy I did the right thing but I know I need to be better.

I share this because we can see this sickness magnified in the 1/6/2021 terrorist attack.

Just months ago there was a peaceful BLM protest in DC and the same security violently threw down and hurt unarmed protesters. Just a few days ago armed white terrorists...

Invade a high security building and the only casualties are 1 officer and 4 self inflicted accidents?

A football player kneels respectfully to the anthem and HE is disrespectful yet an ARMY of white terrorists smear literal $#!+ on the walls of our Capitol AND desecrate a flag..

And they call them "protestors"?

Our culture is sick. We arrest nuns and preachers for peacefully praying on the steps but we just wave thru filmed vandals? Even if some get punished in the aftermath it is still not justice. They got to go home...

While the actual peaceful protestors were hauled off in cuffs and buses.

We lock CHILDREN in cages at the border and then DARE claim pro life and Christian values? What happened to Matthew 25:40 or Exodus 22:21? All men are brothers?

White culture is sick.

Our illness is deep and rotten. I will never forget the lesson learned from my visitor and the absolute humility that he left on my heart.

I could go on and on but I will leave it at that. I hope my story helps someone. Anyone.