The slippery slope

The police officers who killed George Floyd on May 25 in Minneapolis at that moment and time were not good people. This is not to say these police officers have never been good nor does it imply that they will never be, or aspire to be, good people. But what they did that day was an act of hate and evil. There are consequences.
Video posted on social media shows Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, kneeling for several minutes with his knee on the neck of Floyd, who was in a prone position.
There was nothing good about that scene of a defenseless man being choked to death.
Officer Chauvin has been arrested and charged with third degree murder and manslaughter. The medical examiner found several pre-existing health concerns when analyzing the body, including recent meth use. The police were called because Floyd was suspected of trying to use forged documents at a deli. If true it was criminal, but also implies that he was hungry. His actions did not deserve a death sentence.
The previous day in Frankfort, KY, someone hung an effigy of Gov. Andy Beshear to a tree in front of the governor’s mansion during what was supposed to be a peaceful Second Amendment rally. Thankfully, someone else in the crowd upset by the act immediately cut the effigy down. But the act itself was evil and hate filled. This is not what free speech is about. Free speech does not promote or encourage an assassination of an elected official.
People in places of responsibility such as police officers and elected officials have tough jobs made harder for far too much “garbage” thrown at them. Seldom do we equate disrespect to the level of hatred. Obviously, there is the matter of degree. In these divisive times, however, disrespect is the first step on the slippery slope which can easily plunge into hatred.
Most of us living here in Daviess County have no idea what it feels like to be a black person living in modern-day America. We’re insulated from confrontations. My experiences are limited. I once endured reverse discrimination in a decision which, arguably, changed my life. Later, as an employee of the university working my way towards a diploma, I was targeted by an African-American group of men who aggressively called themselves “Black Panthers.” But the most racial hatred I ever witnessed occurred here years ago when I overhead conversation shared among several white men. The barber shop is long gone as are several of the participants in that calm, repulsive, everyday conversation. But that hatred lingers.
It’s easy to moralize, to point to problems elsewhere and voice abhorrence of racism … as if we are immune from such matters of the heart. But whenever something occurs like what happened recently in Minneapolis, we should first ask where we stand on the slippery slope.
Hatred never solves anything. Scripture tells us love wins in the end. But, sadly, it is hatred that is of this moment.