Violent Speech

Many years ago a man in our church called our home late in the evening. As he talked with Rod about his depression and despair there was an unusual sound in the background. The more Rod listened the more he realized what he was hearing. The man was dropping bullets on his kitchen table as he spoke. Eventually he talked about loading the gun and going outside with it. When he dropped the phone we ran like hell to another phone to call the police. Gratefully, the police pulled up just as he was raising the gun to the side of his head.

This morning Rod was in the local McDonald's in our very small town when he witnessed the following: A middle-aged couple asked for the manager and demanded that he change the "Communist News Network" (CNN) currently showing on the TV. They demanded it be changed to Fox News. They demanded it be changed or else they would leave. The manager explained he couldn't change it as it was part of the McDonald's satellite package. After their loud demands were witnessed by children and families, they walked out.

This afternoon Rod was in a local sporting goods store in another very small town and this is what he witnessed: Two men looking at ammunition and speaking loud enough for people to hear, "That coon is ruining our country." And they went on from there. When they tried to buy the ammo, the owner of the store threw them out. He told they were recorded on security cameras and they should never come back.

Two startling incidents of violent speech echoing the national media conversation about race, politics and power occurred in very small places today. How far will this go? How unruly, unkind, and inhumane will we become as we sort through our dilemmas? How close is that gun and where are those bullets? Is anyone, at any level, running like hell to stop this violent conversation that so many apparently feel justified to engage in? And who will take responsibility if/when this violent conversation ends in a burst of rage?