"The Spirit didn’t allow me to speak yesterday, after Pulse. Not sure why, maybe to allow recovery, maybe to honor the dead, maybe just because there was not anything to say. But if there is anything to say, it might be this: If this is supposed to make me hate, I won’t do it. I won’t dehumanize. I need more humanity in my life, not less. Dehumanization brought us to this very non-isolated incident. Who knows what comes first? What is the origination of this heretical hate? But there is a common thread, called dehumanization, that moves today through so much of our world. Militarism, occupation, and unjust war helped bring us here. Legislatures and weak governors that have attacked LGBT bodies by denying us health care, interrupting our adoptions, isolating us from our families. The same politicians that treat black and brown bodies like commodities, sell them to charter schools and accept dollars for that work. It is the same dehumanization rooted in heresy. So, I refuse to hate. But don’t be shocked when the Spirit, maybe through a brother or sister such as myself, holds a mirror up and reminds you of the common thread. The demon of dehumanization is strong, but the Spirit is stronger." - Matthew Bode, pastor at Spirit of Hope in Detroit, via Facebook.
Hate will never win: powerful social media reactions to the Orlando nightclub shooting
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"The Spirit didn’t allow me to speak yesterday, after Pulse. Not sure why, maybe to allow recovery, maybe to honor the dead, maybe just because there was not anything to say. But if there is anything to say, it might be this: If this is supposed to make me hate, I won’t do it. I won’t dehumanize. I need more humanity in my life, not less. Dehumanization brought us to this very non-isolated incident. Who knows what comes first? What is the origination of this heretical hate? But there is a common thread, called dehumanization, that moves today through so much of our world. Militarism, occupation, and unjust war helped bring us here. Legislatures and weak governors that have attacked LGBT bodies by denying us health care, interrupting our adoptions, isolating us from our families. The same politicians that treat black and brown bodies like commodities, sell them to charter schools and accept dollars for that work. It is the same dehumanization rooted in heresy. So, I refuse to hate. But don’t be shocked when the Spirit, maybe through a brother or sister such as myself, holds a mirror up and reminds you of the common thread. The demon of dehumanization is strong, but the Spirit is stronger." - Matthew Bode, pastor at Spirit of Hope in Detroit, via Facebook.
About The Author
Alysa Zavala-Offman
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