by Ivar the Red » Thu Aug 22, 2013 9:16 pm
From a local minister, posted on facebook....
In light of the tragic and senseless murder in Duncan, many people around the world wonder what kind of community we are. What kind of community environment would produce three heartless juveniles seeking a thrill kill? Well, I suspect that every community would not want to be known for the actions of three of their worst citizens. For those who don’t live in Duncan, let me share about the kind of community we are as a resident who lives a block away from the murder scene.
We are a community that is so unaccustomed to such violence that we are in shock. Most of the kindergartners who started to school this week weren’t born when the previous murder rocked out community. As much as people around the globe are trying to make sense of this, we are all the more. Many Duncan residents purposefully chose this community as a quiet and faith-filled place to raise a family and retire. Dealing with murder isn’t a part of our culture. Many are working to overcome fear because of the random nature of the killing.
But we are a community that sticks together in crisis. We are a community where the idea of a prayer vigil can be spontaneously planned and held at the elementary school in the neighborhood of the shooting. Put on Facebook one night, the next morning 50 people attended to pray and be in solidarity together. More formal gatherings for healing are also being planned.
We are a community where compassion spurs four local restaurants to choose a day to designate a portion of their profits (10-40%) to help fund sending Chris Lane’s body and his girlfriend and her family to Australia for his funeral. At this point with only three restaurants, the community has raised around $12,000. Another business has raised $6,000. A fun run, golf tournament, and concert are being planned by others in the community as well.
See, we are a community that has adopted Christopher Lane. He didn’t grow up here or even live here. But he has become one of ours. We are so appalled by his death that we grieve his loss and respond by trying to help his family in their grief in the only way we can half a world away.
We are also a community that as appalled and disgusted as we are at the senseless act of violence, also reluctantly remember that the alleged shooters are ours as well. As much as we want to hate them, we are a small enough community that we aren’t disconnected from them. Our children went to school with them, and our teachers taught them. Our citizens work with their parents. Under no circumstances will we ever condone their actions, but our compassion also extends their families who grieve and deal with a completely different level of astonishment. Certainly, we hate the act that has occurred in our community and therefore smudged our reputation, but we can’t vilify the families like people elsewhere. They are not anonymous to us.
And we are a community that gave every opportunity for the three juveniles to choose a different path. For several years, we have offered after-school programs near two elementary schools located in our low income neighborhoods. This program offers tutoring as well as activities like dance and karate. Like most communities, opportunities for a different path were available through scouting programs, youth groups, and school activities. Our community greatly supports our school activities like athletics, band, and vocal music. Of course, we wonder if we could have done something more, but ultimately our youth still have to choose to accept the opportunities provided. As the expression goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make him drink.”
Despite this horrific act, Duncan has many great citizens and many great qualities. We will refuse to let the actions of three juveniles define who we are. I hope others outside our community will also be able to see our determination, compassion, and relentless faith as well.
Thanks guys...
Johnny
BUILD THREADWinning is not a sometime thing; it's an all time thing. You don't win once in a while, you don't do things right once in a while, you do them right all the time. Winning is habit. Unfortunately, so is losing. - Vince Lombardi
