Advocating for Others when Physical Harm is Likely
I heard a sermon in chapel earlier this week where the preacher spoke about racism, in the history of the country, and now. He brought up the question about what he would have done (as a white man) had he been present at a lynching of a black man in the south, during the time when those happened all the time. He admitted that if he did anything he might let out a feeble protest, but that when it came to putting himself in physical danger, he was very cowardly. So he said he doubted he would have done anything to try to help save the man.
I've really been thinking about that, wondering what the right thing to do would be in a situation like that during that time period, and also today. I mean, let's say that if he had tried to physically intervene, he would have definitely been stopped, and either driven out of town or killed. And the man who was being lynched would still be lynched. Or, in a current example, you see someone start beating up someone else for no reason other than race/gender/sexual orientation/other form of mass hatred. Should you intervene personally and physically if you are fairly certain that it will not change the outcome, and likely you will just get hurt/killed yourself?
I'm not really sure what I think about this. Of course I think it's always better to stand up for people who are victims of violence no matter what--but if you think you're going to lose your life in the process, is it better to stand up from afar (make a phone call, call for help, etc.), or are we called to get right in there even if we think it will mean our own lives will be lost? At this point, I must confess, if I saw this happening in some deserted parking lot or something, I would probably haul ass out of there as fast as possible, and probably just call the police or something. But that's pretty cowardly, really.
I've really been thinking about that, wondering what the right thing to do would be in a situation like that during that time period, and also today. I mean, let's say that if he had tried to physically intervene, he would have definitely been stopped, and either driven out of town or killed. And the man who was being lynched would still be lynched. Or, in a current example, you see someone start beating up someone else for no reason other than race/gender/sexual orientation/other form of mass hatred. Should you intervene personally and physically if you are fairly certain that it will not change the outcome, and likely you will just get hurt/killed yourself?
I'm not really sure what I think about this. Of course I think it's always better to stand up for people who are victims of violence no matter what--but if you think you're going to lose your life in the process, is it better to stand up from afar (make a phone call, call for help, etc.), or are we called to get right in there even if we think it will mean our own lives will be lost? At this point, I must confess, if I saw this happening in some deserted parking lot or something, I would probably haul ass out of there as fast as possible, and probably just call the police or something. But that's pretty cowardly, really.
posted by bethany at 9:37 PM
3 Comments:
Everyone has an idealistic scenario and a realistic scenario to this. The ideal of what should happen: i.e. stick up for someone at all costs, martyr yourself! The realistic - It's not really happening is it? Malcolm Gladwell writes about this in The Tipping Point where he illustrated that a woman in Brooklyn back in the 80's was getting bludgeoned while all her neighbors sat in silence waiting for it to end. . C & I were at a football game a week or so ago, and this one young lady was getting barraged with insults from another spectator who claimed that she was blocking his view. C & I sat there wondering if we should do anything, and we deduced that if it came to physical violence we'd step in. But why did we wait? Wasn't it enough that he was calling her an F*ckin' C*nt? There is a strange phenomenon about why we feel paralyzed in the heat of the moment.
out of curiousity, who was preaching? of course, no need to tell if you don't. and what was the text.
yowzer, what a question. i think most of us are too cowardly even to say something during times where we aren't threatened. isn't that what makes preaching so hard?
casey--it was brian wren preaching. i think it was his class' chapel week. i don't remember the text--the sermon wasn't exactly based on it i don't think. but i could just not be remembering.
hope pastoring is going well. i'm sure it's one of those jobs where your reliance on God increases on a daily basis. :) and i'm sure your congregation is grateful for that.
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