Since news of the protests and riots here in the USA, I deliberately steered clear of watching any footage of it. Violence in any form I have zero emotional threshold for. But today I did a youtube search and watched this one. It was the shortest video I could find and I am shaken to the core as I knew I would be. Broken-hearted and anguished at the level of destruction and hate infusing this movement.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bglsyniUE4]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bglsyniUE4
I understand fear. I’ve spent alot of time with fear and know it well. What I do not understand is the reaction of violence to fear.
I myself and my family fall into several of the categorized at-risk areas of legitimate concern now vulnerable to what the Trump administration may put into effect. I am afraid for myself, my children, and my friends who are in even more vulnerable positions than I am. There are many reasons to be concerned. Many reasons to have fear. Many reasons to be angry and sad and countless other feelings that leave us feeling clawed at from the inside out. That leave us unable to see our way beyond the fear. But violence is never the answer.
Safety does not result from violence. Peace cannot grow from violence. The only thing that gets accomplished with violence is more violence, leading to more fear, more sadness and more pain.
Violence cannot be condoned.
Violence cannot be rationalized.
Violence cannot be defended as righteous.
Violence is violent and it in itself is a hateful awful thing that needs to stop.
The violence needs to Stop.
Standing on the Side of Love is standing on the side of Peace. My fervent prayer is that we turn our attention, our focus, our actions to Love, for in walking the path of Love, Peace grows.
May the leaders among us in influential positions please preach Love. Lead with examples of Love. Rile your communities and congregations up with So Much Love that the only result can be Peace and more Love. Those among us who know how, please teach each other how to channel these feelings of fear and sadness and hopelessness and pain into actions of love. Our message in easy times is to echo in mantra-style “Be the Change We Wish to See in the World.” This mantra and mission must not change in the face of fear. No, it needs to be modeled, demonstrated, exemplified.
Please gather your arms around those among us unable or unwilling to refrain from these reactions of violence. Hold them, cradle them and Love them, yes, and also urge the violence to stop so that the way of peace may be revealed.
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Rev. “Twinkle” Marie Manning
November 12th, 2016