Good News / Bad News

Two articles in the January 6-8 edition of USA Today caught my attention over the weekend.  

Article 1:  Page 1 of Section A reported on the charging four African Americans who kidnapped and tortured a white, special needs student who was an acquaintance of one of the assailants.  This infamous case was livestreamed on Facebook.

The Bad News:  The despicable acts demonstrate the worst of the human condition.  One simply cannot comprehend the depravity that would cause four people to commit such atrocities. 

The Good News:  Well, there really is not any good news.  The story simply shows that any group can be the instigator, as well as the victim of intolerance.  White, black, red, yellow or any other skin color.  Christian, Jew, Muslim or any other religion.  Straight, gay, bisexual or transgender.  It’s ironic that the perpetrators themselves are members of a frequently oppressed minority group.  (Check back this Saturday for a reprint of the Parable of Ups and Downs.)

Observation:  The one thing all these groups have in common?  They all are made up of human beings.  We all fall short of the mark.  But, thankfully, few of us sink so low as these acts seen by thousands on Facebook.

Article 2:  Page 2 of section A was a report from the Southern Poverty Law Center on hate crimes.  The FBI defines hate crime as “a criminal offense … motivated in whole or in part by an offender’s bias against a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, gender or gender identity.”

The Good News:  The burst of hate incidents and crimes reported after the November election has eased.  

The Bad News:  Hate activity remains above the pre-election levels. 

Observation:  Those who crossed the bounds of good and ethical (not to mention, legal) behavior were not reinforced, but may actually have been chastised.  I’d like to think that good people who voted for both candidates took a stand and by their acts, showed the perpetrators that this kind of (literally) hateful conduct cannot and will not be tolerated in this country.

But, the rate of hate crimes is higher than before the election. And, in our country, one hate crime is one too many.  

We are therefore called upon to exercise our moral courage to take a stand against hate and intolerance.

Well, that was quite an adventure from two articles in USA Today!