Dear Friends,
On 28th August 1963, on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC
one of the most powerful and memorable speeches ever heard was made by Dr
Martin Luther King Jr. He was
challenging the citizens of America – and the wider world – to consider the
true meaning of civil rights and freedom and to recognise that all people are
created equal.
Jesus taught his followers the importance of respecting our fellow human
beings as human beings, regardless of their faith or age or colour, for we are
all loved by God. ‘Love our neighbour as
our self’ we have been taught by him; in other words, treat others as we would
have them treat us. It is a good way to
live, but sadly these days, we are witnessing increasingly more incidents where
this does not happen, not least among those users of social networking
sites.
Bullying behaviour is frowned upon everywhere; at work there are policies
and procedures to outlaw it with consequences which may affect one’s continued
employment; in schools and colleges the disciplinary consequences can be very
serious ranging from suspension to expulsion.
But ‘trolling’ as on-line bullying or hate campaigning is called has, to
date, not been taken as seriously as it should with some tragic outcomes. Perhaps this is because the potentially
severe or tragic repercussions of something which is written online are not
immediately apparent to the bully. Once posted, their message is ‘out of sight’
and becomes just as quickly ‘out of mind’ as they move on to their next
victim.
Most of us would not choose to be bullied by whatever means, and if we
witness this happening we should do something about it – without putting ourselves
in harm’s way. If we are to truly follow
Jesus’ teaching to “love one another as [he has] loved us” (John 14:12) it is
our duty as Christians to do this. As
the Old Testament prophet Micah challenges us: “What is it that the Lord doth
require but that you should do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God”
(Micah 6:8). ‘Doing justly’ is
challenging this unacceptable behaviour firmly but politely; ‘loving mercy’ is
supporting the victims of this and any other kind of abuse, and ‘walking humbly
with God’ is praying to him for strength and wisdom to deal with such
situations appropriately.
As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of that famous speech, I am emboldened
to declare that I, too, have a dream: namely that one day all of God’s children
of all ages, faiths and colours will be able to live in harmony with one
another and bullying and abuse of all kinds will be a thing of the past.
With my love, prayers and hope,
Sue
Waterston.
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