Keshia Thomas 18 years old in 1996 when she attended a KKK protest in Ann Arbor Michigan. The clan was holding a rally only to be met with a protest. One clan member made it into the midst of the protest group and the mob mentality took over and he was beaten.
Knowing that for all this mans wrongs he did not deserve that, he deserved better from a group that's supposedly so different and more open minded. The protesters that thought themselves so much better than the clan seemed to be acting just like them.
So Keshia protected him with her own body and risked bodily harm and quite possibly her own life as well.
Some time after the event she was thanked for saving that mans life by his son. Most people who hurt come from hurt, the victim often becomes the victimizer. It is a learned and therefore in some ways an unnatural act, in that it goes against our better natures, to be full of hate and vengeance.
Racism, sexism and all round bigotry can be found in every nation, group, gender, faith and in every demographic.
In Man's Search For Meaning Viktor Frankl writes this:
It is apparent that the mere knowledge that a man was either a camp guard or a prisoner tells us almost nothing. Human kindness can be found in all groups, even those which as a whole it would be easy to condemn. The boundaries between groups overlapped and we must not try to simplify matters by saying that these men were angels and those were devils. Certainly, it was a considerable achievement for a guard or foreman to be kind to the prisoners in spite of all the camp’s influences, and, on the other hand, the baseness of a prisoner who treated his own companions badly was exceptionally contemptible. Obviously the prisoners found the lack of character in such men especially upsetting, while they were profoundly moved by the smallest kindness received from any of the guards. [p93]
Schindler was a Nazi and yet he saved so many lives. Viktor Frankl survived Auschwitz in part because of the kindness that a few of his prison gaurds showed him.
The point is that even in groups, nations, states, certain faiths, may be deserving of condemnation not every last member of those groups are evil.And likewise not every member of groups deserving praise can be considered good people. Every group is prone to having sinners and saints.And every group must be measured by every member rather than condemning or praising them as a whole. When judgment comes it will come in a case by case basis not as a blanket judgment of what groups one has aligned with.I support any group protesting the KKK until that group gives into the mob mentality and tries to start killing those who they disagree with.We are called to love our enemies. How can we murder those we are called to love? How can we hate those Jesus teaches us to love? Hate is like drinking poison and expecting the one we hate to die. Hate is toxic and we ought not expose ourselves or our loved ones or even our enemies to it.We are all children of God and we all are deserving of dignity, respect and love because of that fact.We don't have to agree with or even like everything a person says or does to love them but we cannot hate or kill God's children without bearing the burden of our hate and iniquity."Darkness cannot drive out darkness, only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that." Dr. Martin Luther KingThe better option, the one Christ taught, is to meet hate with love because love is the only antidote to hate. That is why He taught to love our enemies, and to forgive infinitely. We cannot over come in this life or the next if we give into becoming the bad guys and taking on evil behaviors and speech. If we are truly righteous we will be better than that.
