Midnight Ride of Bigotry and Hate
Editor's Note: The following user-submitted blog post references the vandalism incidents that took place over the weekend at three Wilmington churches.
As I posted earlier, hatred payed a visit to Wilmington this weekend. Its ugly presence came as evil often does in the dead of night, cloaked in a sheet of darkness, it did its damage and then stole away before it could face the dawn, and the light of day. It left its message on the symbol we all cherish - our houses of worship.
These modern day night riders think they are making us cringe with fear, but they are sadly mistaken. This type of evil is not new, it's been around for thousands of years. Early Christians in the Colosseums of Rome faced it. Early monks at the hands of the vikings faced it, Jews during the Inquisitions and the Holocaust faced it, African Americans faced it, Christians and many other groups face it to this day. In all these cases evil causes a lot of damage but it the always loses.
It is 50 years this year that Martin Luther King gave his "I had a dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial. Those of us who heard it could not help but be moved by it, especially the part the states "I have a dream that black men and white, catholic and protestant, Jew and gentile will one day sit together at the table of brotherhood." Let us still be moved today to join together all people of good will and denounce what happened in Wilmington for what it is - hate.
An Englishman in the 18th Century, Edmund Burke, wrote that "The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing." In Wilmington the gauntlet fell and it is up to good people of Wilmington and elsewhere to make sure evil doesn't win. Some of us will be organizing a rally against this blind hate, details which will be announced in the near future. It would be great if as many people can come and show unity and solidarity.
Maxine
5:45 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Mr. Malvone,
I can absolutely understand that you and many other members of these parishes are very upset about the acts that were committed against their houses of worship over the weekend. I understand that you feel violated and that you are angry. These acts of vandalism were utterly unacceptable.
Please understand that I really do sympathize, but I must take issue with your comparison between a small, ugly act by a small ugly individual (or group of individuals) and the atrocities committed throughout history in the name of bigotry.
This act was a stupid. Stupid. That's all. Nobody died. Nobody will die. The graffiti has been cleaned up as far as I can tell and I sincerely hope that the Wilmington Police Department will catch the perpetrators.
I mention this because I have a dear, dear friend who lost most of his family during the Holocaust. That was truly an atrocity.
I worry because it seems to be far too easy for people to bring up the Holocaust when they feel slighted or attacked. When I see these comparisons, it feels to me like we've lost sight of what that episode in history really was.
This act of vandalism was stupid. No doubt about that. It was hurtful. No doubt about that. It was absolutely unacceptable, but it does not begin to even dip a little toe into the deep pool of hate that was the Holocaust, the Roman treatment of Christians, slavery in the South, lynchings -- or, for that matter, the Spanish Inquisition or the Crusades.
Dawn Reidy
1:26 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I think you're right Maxine. I'm very sorry for your friend. What a tragedy.
The vandalism of the churches was absolutely-without-a-doubt wrong, but it doesn't rise to the level of atrocity. I'm sure it was quite shocking to the people who saw the graffiti as they arrived at the affected churches for funerals, and for the kids who arrived for their retreat at St. Thomas, but everyone is fine and the markings are gone.
I really hope they catch the misguided knuckleheads who did this, but it needs to be put in perspective. As you say, "This act was stupid ... That's all."
Kevin MacDonald
6:52 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Lennie, are contracts that are not going out for competitive bid on the central register and invitation only contractors the result of good men doing nothing?
Lauren Turner-Cigna
7:14 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Well, I guess that's freedom of speech at work for Mr MacDonald.
Let's keep on topic, shall we?
McKenzie O'Brien
7:20 pm on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
I aslo agree with Maxine, this is an embarassing and terrible thing to read about especially considering that I grew up here. However, no one died from this act of hatred- I suggest saving the dramatics for something else, this doesn't compare to the Holocaust, slavery, and other geneocides and tragedies in history. All this shows is that Wilmington and the rest of the world for that matter needs to teach and practice respect and tolerance of others.
Wayne Sullivan
9:08 am on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Hopefully Kevin is on the suspect list!
Tom
1:02 pm on Wednesday, February 6, 2013
I think that the key line in Mr. Malvone's message is "The only thing needed for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing."
If good people had stepped up to stop Hitler early in his life, then maybe the Holocaust never happens. Who knows?
This may seem like a petty act of vandalism, but it was obviously thought out. What if this is just the tip of the iceberg. What next, a bomb during one of the church services in town. Again, who knows, but you can't rule out the possibilty. Reference Birmingham, 1963.
To stand by and do nothing is a crime in and of itself.