Love and acceptance can overcome hate and contempt

To The Daily Sun,

For a couple of weeks now, The Laconia Daily Sun has carried a series of letters sparked, I think, by a guest editorial by Alan Vervaeke decrying racist attitudes on the part of some New Hampshire citizens, in particular Ryan Murdough who is apparently running for state office. The editorial was answered by Mr. Murdough, a Holocaust denier, and thus began the back-and-forth volley.

Most of the letters that were published were rightly critical of Mr. Murdough’s racist attitudes, and a number of them made some good points (I particularly liked Hillarie Goldstein’s letter).

Last year, I read a story about another man who held views similar to Mr. Murdough. Michael Kent was a white supremacist with racist and nazi tattoos who had spent some time in prison. When he was released, his case was assigned to a black parole officer, Tiffany Whittier. Though Tiffany was aware of Michael’s racist attitudes, she treated him with respect as a person and listened to him, trying to understand who Michael was. Though she never condoned his attitudes, she chose not to reject him as a person, and her love and acceptance helped Michael renounce his racism and change his life.

This story is the kind of story I would love to see more of: a person like Tiffany Whittier who disagrees profoundly with another but who still accords him kindness and respect. Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not suggesting that evil and criminal acts be overlooked. Michael Kent broke the law and had to pay for his crimes with prison time. But he shed the hate that fueled those crimes because of the kindness and acceptance of a woman who was previously a target of his hate. This story is the best form of victory over racism where the racist himself comes to reject that viewpoint.

There are evil, destructive acts in this world, but those acts are still separate from the people who have committed them. When we not just condemn the actions but also the people themselves by, for instance, calling them “losers” or “invertebrates,” we are likely to just entrench them in their wrong thinking. Tiffany Whittier, on the other hand, had the confidence of her convictions and the courage to be kind. Because of her, our world has one fewer white supremacist.

It is, perhaps, appropriate that this flurry of letters is showing up around Easter, for it is the message of Easter that offers mankind the solution to the hatred that fuels the divisions and the hopelessness of so many. Jesus Christ loves each of us, and He came to deliver all of us from all of our wrong attitudes and all of our sins.

Jennifer Watson

Laconia