It is a shame that our society seems to lionize people who hurt others. Notice how we mythologize serial killers with special nicknames and exposes on their psychopathy, biographies, and case studies, but how seldom we remember the names of their victims. I note that while the Boston Strangler has a Wikipedea page and all his victims are listed by name, not a single one of them is linked to an article describing her life or accomplishments. His notoriety is much more likely to garner attention and emulation than the unremarked women he murdered. We glorify the mavericks and tend to think of people who try hard to play by the rules as uncreative and dull. After all, nobody ever made history by trying to be liked, right? So making enemies is a standard and expected part of being significant. From there, it's only a short step to say making enemies should be an explicit goal, a step many people delight in taking. While there is an element of truth to some of these ideas, they should not be where our primary values lie. The virtues of gentleness, kindness, patience, and peace are at the heart of avoiding being the evil person, but they are not popular symbols of strength.
Wouldn't it be great if we were more likely to hear the statement, "Oh yes, Mary Brown. I've heard of her. She was that nice older Bostonian lady who was tragically killed by some madman or another."
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Timothy DarlingPastor, Norma Mennonite Church. Archives
March 2018
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