“Evil exists, and when left unchecked, it robs human beings of their dignity. I know firsthand how it feels to be dehumanized, helpless, and hopeless. I know what it feels like to be the target of evil. I felt it most strongly when I was lying in my own blood on the floor of the Brandon jail, not able to strike back. But evil isn’t always as dramatic as almost dying. There have been other incidents as well, such as the time when I was a teenager and was paid 15 cents for a full day’s work. That was an obvious case of one human being devaluing another. I remember the internal struggle I had about how to respond. If I had demanded more money, or even refused to take any money at all, I would have preserved my dignity, but I also would have been branded a little smart-mouth and put myself and my family in danger. I would have been considered too smart, and that would have branded me for further abuse. In that moment, I felt helpless, almost like a victim must feel.”
John M. Perkins, Dream With Me: Race, Love, and the Struggle We Must Win. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2017, page 130.
Related posts:
Pastor Note #98: Hearing Our Neighbors’ Cry of Distress: A White Pastor Talks to his White Congregation about Race
Bible Note #48: Justice for the Weak–Ezekiel 34:11-22
Bible Note #64: Zechariah 7:9-10–A Rightly Ordered Society in God’s Eyes
Pastor Note #144: Jesus vs. Brutality & Inhumanity
Bible Note #62: Compassion & the Anger of Jesus–Mark 3:1-6
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