Several observations: First, I wonder how a preacher of a church of 30 people can receive so much media attention? I mean, this guy has had top administration officials get involved in his antics. Isn't this a nothing story? How much responsibility does the media bear for making such a sensational story out of it?
Second, why do representatives of Islam overreact so much to things? If someone in Afghanistan burned a Bible (which I am sure they do), would we have a riot in one of our cities and kill dozens?
Third, am I also guilty of a similar prejudice to what those Moslems displayed? They think 30 fanatical "Christians" (I am being generous here in the definition. What they did does not resemble Christlikeness) represent the whole. But do I do that when I lump in all Moslems with the fringe terrorists? Now, I realize that burning a Koran does not rank up there with 9-11 and other atrocities. Yet I still need to wrestle with that question.
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And what about the 8-year old 2nd grader who was sprayed with mace by the police? When I first heard the lead-in to the story, I was thinking this seemed extreme.
Apparently, he had gone into a rage because of something to do with his bicycle, I think. He threatened to kill his teachers, who barricaded themselves in a closet. He threw desks and other objects, and pulled off a piece of the wall that he threatened them with. He yelled obscenities at the teachers and police officers.
And get this: This is the THIRD time the police have been called to that school because of his rages.
As I watched the interview, it seemed to be clear that his mother is enabling him. She was very defensive of him, and seemed to only want to highlight the excessive police actions.
After first thinking the police action was extreme, by the end of the interview I was left wondering what other action they could have taken.
Any thoughts?
2 comments:
My thoughts probably shouldn't be typed--so I'll defer on this one.:)
I miss so much by not watching the news.
We can all be guilty of lumping all people of a race, religion, etc. into certain categories, even more so when no one in that group steps out to show something different. As for Christians, maybe we should openly share our disappointment in Jones' actions and, more than that, we need to demonstrate love to those who would oppose our views of God. It seems much harder to get media time for doing good things though.
As for the young boy, it sounds like the mace is only a starting point for what he needs. I'm not condoning the use of mace on children but it would seem the boy isn't learning that there are consequences to your actions at home. Maybe learning it from the police will be the start of good training.
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