As I drove around town last Friday, I flipped through the right wing section of the radio dial to see how folks were analyzing the shootings at Fort Hood. To a one, there was a general indictment of Islam, of Muslims, of Arabs. I didn’t stick around long enough to hear whether or not the shootings in Orlando was an indictment of engineers.
Any time rampant violence makes its way to the head of the newsroom, I am reminded of Jesus’ response to those looking to find easy answers to the death of those whom Pilate killed while making their sacrifices in the Temple. Rather than offering a quick analysis – e.g. those who were killed were deserving because they were sinful, Pilate is just a rotten S.O.B., let’s avenge their deaths, etc. – Jesus suggests that these moments are ones that call people of faith to repentance. Every time we hear of such bloodletting, or even witness it for ourselves, the Christian’s first reaction should be to engage in self-reflection on how we stand in our relationships – with God, and with others.
I mentioned all this during announcements this morning at church, convinced that OPC is not a congregation that needs a reminder that the shootings and Fort Hood don’t say so much about a religion or a national origin as they do about a common humanity that binds us all. But listening to right wing radio two days ago, there are a lot of folks out there who are deeply infected by the confidence that such moments are not ones of intensive self-reflection, but ones that prop up our already existing stereotypes.
It reminded me that when I was in Chicago, we got word that the Oklahoma Federal Building was hit by major bombing. Sunday came, and we still didn’t know who the perpetrators were. The pastor spoke to the congregation, saying that we need to be careful not to presume guilt of one kind or another before we have the facts. He was lambasted by several members, convinced that this was clearly the work of Muslim extremists. We later, of course, learned that this was not the case.
When I first heard that Major Hasan, the suspected killer, was an American of Palestinian Muslim origin, I wasn’t surprised. But I wouldn’t have been surprised, either, if I heard that he was an American Christian, an Israeli Jew. In fact, no combination of ancestry or religion (or lack of) would have surprised me. The thing that convicts me most about being a Christian is that we are, all of us, sinners in the face of God’s perfect grace. We all do things we shouldn’t; and we all don’t do things we should. I’m reminded of Sufjan Stevens’ haunting song “John Wayne Gacy Jr.” in which he sings of the chilling mass murders and then follows with the verse:
And in my best behavior, I am really just like him.
Look beneath the floorboards for the secrets I have hid.
Maybe it’s not the religious aspect that draws attention in this case; instead, it’s the idea that “one of our own,” an army man, would do this to his fellow soldiers. Can Christians really be surprised that betrayal is a human trait, either, as it stands at the center of our story?
Pray for the victims at Fort Hood, yes. And pray for the shooter, Maj. Hasan. Jesus would expect no less.
I hope that you are right & folk do think in terms of betrayal & not religion. I fear not everyone does. The right wing media folk immediately reinforce the ethnic/religious aspect rather than looking for meaning. And this morning on ABC, the news is not good: Major Hasan is suspected now of being in touch with ‘Radical Islamic Clerics’, but still no one expressing any reasons beside assigning labels. I would wish for more introspection(?) in the coverage, but 30 second clips of your typical story don’t allow for it.
I find it worth remarking upon that we humans use a phrase like “one of our own”.
Whoever it is who destroys lives, whether by economic violence, or by (relatively small-scale) mass murder, or by starting a war, that person is always “one of our own”. We are not permitted to exclude people-who-do-great-evil from “people”. To do so is to presume that we are in a better category of people whose sins are a little less sinny.
Ben, I agree with you on highlighting that phrase; what has been interesting in my own journey is how that phrase has expanded in meaning. When Timothy McVeigh bombed the Oklahoma Federal Building, I probably understood “one of our own” as “a white dude of European descent.” Now, I really do understand it in that broader sense of common humanity. The way I used it in the piece is probably more reflective of how most people use it, in that more limited tribal sense: in this case, an army guy killing other army guys. Oh, and I hope the word “sinny” catches on. Like “skinny” without the “k”.
John, since the fuller story of Maj. Hasan is still emerging, I’ve held back on one thing I’ve been mulling. If this does turn out to be true, that he did have connections with radical clerics, and he really did go into the army with altruistic ideals but felt excluded after 9/11, we would do well as a nation to see how this incident could teach us about how exclusion can lead to radicalization (on both sides of the divide). That’s also a tricky line to walk, though, because there’s a huge difference between contextualizing someone’s actions and justifying them. I can contextualize violence; that doesn’t mean I agree with it. My experience is that the difference between the two is lost on most.
But: the full story is still emerging. And the bottom line for me is that evil is at work in the world. If we try to pretend like we are “holier than thou,” we’re out of touch. Or, as we say often in worship, “If we say we are without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.”
Thanks for printing the words that you used during the announcements at OPC. John and I were both moved by your response because it reinforced our feelings. I am glad to have the printed version to use as “talking points” with others.
I am also concerned with the anti-Muslim sentiments being used in the Army and in society. It would be especially hurtful to be denigrated at a time you felt you were serving your country.
Before Sanders–Sufjan
Before Sufjan–Solzhenitsyn (btw best quote ever)
Before Solzhenitsyn–Saul
“If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?” (Solzhenitsyn)
The entire epistle to the Romans (S/Paul)
probably others in that 2000 years i skipped, but i was sticking with alliteration to verify the truthiness of my comment.
salaamat