Weekly Reflection – Compare and Contrast

It is now nearly three weeks since the safe and happy space of a group of children in Southport, dancing to Taylor Swift, was brutally violated. A seventeen-year-old boy gained access. He murdered three children and severely injured ten others, including eight more children. A few days later the teenager was named as Alex Rudakubana, a UK born citizen of Rwandan, and Christian, heritage. Of course, for the parents of Elsie, Bebe and Alice the details of Alex Rudakubana’s background do nothing, either to help explain his actions or to process grief that will last a lifetime.

But in the malign undergrowth of social media unpleasant forces were at work. Very quickly a completely fictitious identity for the perpetrator was concocted. There were claims that the killer was Arab, Muslim and had arrived on a boat. All these claims were false. There was another claim: that the killer’s identity was being deliberately concealed by the police. This claim was also false. The police were not legally able to name Alex Rudakubana because he was under eighteen (a restriction later lifted by a judge).

The subsequent violence, with its racist undertones and exacerbated by social media and some of our politicians, was sickening. It revealed our society’s dark underbelly, and its instigators attempted, with some success, gratuitously to manipulate communities across our nation who feel disenfranchised and unheard. Thankfully there emerged from within those same communities a different way – a way that has enabled mosque property to be repaired by people of all faiths and no faith; roads to be cleared of broken glass and rubble; food and drink to be shared; and peace vigils to be organised. Compare and contrast these behaviours and ask yourself which best represents the essence of the Gospel and the type of society you would like your children and grandchildren to grow up in. And as you ask yourself that question, never forget Elsie, Bebe and Alice.

With love and prayers,
Dean Simon