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I'm looking back through some of notes, ideas, and other writings from August 2017 in #Charlottesville. I share some of them here as encouragement and reminders of the faithful work we have been called to do.
These are from conversations with clergy and other faith leaders:
These are from conversations with clergy and other faith leaders:
False comparisons are coming.
They can condemn what happened while they condone what led to it.
The language is what gets you… it's been researched, they have a plan.
We don’t need a partisan call we need a prophetic call,
We specialize in the prophetic.
They can condemn what happened while they condone what led to it.
The language is what gets you… it's been researched, they have a plan.
We don’t need a partisan call we need a prophetic call,
We specialize in the prophetic.
Opinions are not moral values.
We don’t all have to do the same thing – this needs to be a multifaceted effort – you don’t have to be in the streets every time they come - because we fight back on every possible level.
We don’t all have to do the same thing – this needs to be a multifaceted effort – you don’t have to be in the streets every time they come - because we fight back on every possible level.
There is no judgement and shame – there must be mercy for those who doubt.
How do we show everyone what to do when this evil comes to their town?
We must take the platform from them.
How do we show everyone what to do when this evil comes to their town?
We must take the platform from them.
"It was hard to see at first, but if you looked deeply past the swaggering, strutting, smirking and smug arrogance, the fear was visible in their eyes." @JeffreyCPugh
"Fear is a parasite that feeds on itself. It doesn’t have to take you unless you invite it inside.... And, oddly enough (and I realize I’m going to lose many of you here), this is when the compassion kicked in." @JeffreyCPugh
For them it is a zero sum game and if someone else benefits, “I” must be losing.
It’s built upon a foundational myth of white marginalization and exclusion that masks the petty grievances of white males....
It’s built upon a foundational myth of white marginalization and exclusion that masks the petty grievances of white males....
...Those who were afforded exclusive privileges resent now being asked to share basic human rights – to human dignity, to economic opportunity, to equal protection under the law – with others.
Those of us in Charlottesville paying attention were in no way surprised at the size, scope, or aims of the rally. For weeks, an internet subculture had been boasting, strategizing, and gloating at all the ways they would come out of the woodwork...
...demonstrate their real-world power, provoke and commit acts of violence, and terrorize this town. Even the idea of using vehicles as weapons was much discussed on white supremacist chatboards.
The guns, shields, armor, and chemical weapons for which the police seemed unprepared weren’t unexpected - they were part of the script. Meanwhile, local residents said “just ignore them and they’ll go away.”
(Yes, all of these are from 2017)
(Yes, all of these are from 2017)
The undercurrents of this movement, however are not economic – as much as our politicians would like to assure us that they are. They are driven by the human heart and its fears. May God give us each the grace to recognize the fears and suspicions that lurk within us, ...
... the courage to challenge and confront them, and the holy boldness to lift our heads and our voices to defend and embrace those most vulnerable to the latest wave of this hateful tide.
My hope, always, is in the One who put his body and life in the way of hate and state-sanctioned violence. My hope is in the One who always chose the side of the oppressed, marginalized, powerless, and poor.
Hope is not enough, if it means “nice, well-intentioned white folks” offer prayers and then go on about business as usual.
Let us remember, that we are not alone, so that we can say to so many others, we are with you. Even in a time of darkness, even during a concealment within a concealment, you are not alone, you are not alone, you are not alone.
