"You have killed some of the most beautifulest people I know. Every fiber in my body hurts.... May God have mercy on your soul...We are the family that love built."
The response by "Mother Emmanuel" church to the shootings reminds me so much of the words from the Old Order Amish to the shooting of ten girls, ages 6 to 13, at the Amish West Nickel Mines School back in 2006. They were shot at close range, execution-style, and five of the girls died on the spot or soon afterward, while the others were seriously injured. The Amish expressed forgiveness and comforted the family of the killer. The thought of an Amish man holding the killer's father in his arms makes an indelible picture.
Thank you for putting this video in your blog, Marly, and for prefacing it so beautifully. I am also grateful to the judge presiding over this bond hearing for inviting the family and friends of those people Dylann Roof murdered Wednesday night to speak to the culprit right now, while the wounds are wide open. I'm glad the judge didn't just go through the usual motions. I hope and think that speaking to him may help the mourners in their grief, and I think the fact that Roof was made to listen to them without being allowed to answer imparts some measure of real justice to the proceedings against him.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comments here and elsewhere, Mary. I've been so glad to see thoughtful comments when what I saw below the youtube video was so often cruel and distasteful, mired in vengeance and hatred.
DeleteFor passers-by, here are a few more thoughtful comments, including yours: Comments