In lieu of the actions taken by one individual in Charleston South Carolina this past week, I felt the need to address the idea of superiority. I can not say that a white supremacist like the one who shot nine people at the Mother Emmanuel congregation is really a superior individual. In fact, I would argue he feels quite inferior. A truly superior person would never sully his hands with violence. He would not look down on people not like himself, he would not have to. A truly superior person helps people less fortunate than himself. A truly superior person does not feel threatened by other peoples' individuality because they feel good in and of himself.
In the violence last week, the superior behavior was from the preacher and members of the mother Emmanuel congregation. They welcomed the young murderer into their mist, sat him down by the preacher and let him be part of the Bible study for forty-five minutes. They did not feel suspicion or hatred. The church is a historical church and it is important to have fellowship with tourists and people of the city alike. So people of all colors are welcome there. Sometimes people pay a huge price negatively for their hospitality and I really doubt this will stop the congregation of mother Emmanuel. They have lost pillars of the community from the oldest person who died down to the youngest. They will not be stopped in their worship and fellowship. I so respect these folks. Such strength is to be admired and yes their behavior demonstrates a exemplary behavior. I wish circumstances were different and rather than trying to spread hatred with bullets, the gunman had done something else. But don't get me wrong, I see such behavior to be not just an individual problem but a societal problem. Something clearly went awry with this young gunman. We can start change by being kinder to one another, that is for certain. As exemplified by the mother Emmanuel community, we need to be kinder to ourselves and one another.
