Two Virginia churches feel aftermath of racist rhetoric

[struggle4progress]

August 12, 20196:37 AM ET
Sarah McCammon

... here in Appomattox, where the Civil War ended more than 150 years ago, there are still reminders of division.

... a sign posted in front of Friendship Baptist Church reads "AMERICA: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT."

Pastor Earnie Lucas said he posted that message on his church sign ...

... he said he doesn't believe news reports that the white shooter was targeting Latinos. Lucas also said he does not believe analyses suggesting that undocumented immigrants are less likely to commit violent crimes than others living in the United States ...

Two hours away in Hopewell, Va., is another Friendship Baptist Church. The congregation is predominantly black, and the members are experiencing this moment very differently ...

https://www.npr.org/2019/08/12/749410060/in-virginia-2-churches-feel-the-aftermath-of-trumps-racist-rhetoric

[gordianot]

1. To paraphrase the comments from a prisoner who was being executed.

Pastor Lucas does not know what he is doing.

[lark]

4. I bet he does know and is fine with inciting violence.

Otherwise why would he ignore every fact there is and only believe the hate filled version of lies?

[struggle4progress]

7. "We put friendship in our name. What more could anyone want from us?"

[Grokenstein]

2. Earnie's belief system seems a bit skewed

He purports to believe in the Magic Sky Elf but can't handle the possibility that a murderer might be racist? Or that immigrants might not be rapists and murderers?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

3. We've got a very long way to go with evolution and....

in learning how to love all our fellowman. The proof is before us every day.

Good article. Thanks, struggle4progress......

[Boomer]

6. Don't blame evolution

The goal of evolution is survival, period, not the development of ethical and moral principles. Becoming "better" people is a purely social construct that comes and goes as the world changes. Unfortunately, with the increasing stress of climate change on an unsustainable number of people on the planet, our ethics are poised to take a steep nose-dive. Being nice is a luxury, and we won't hold onto it much longer.

[lagomorph777]

9. Survival as a species demands social evolution.

If we don't reduce our rate of population growth, and reduce tensions that lead to violence, we are doomed. Then we get replaced by a smarter species, if any life on Earth survives the Human Extinction Event.

[Boomer]

11. Social "evolution" is ephemeral

I know I'm being pedantic, but seeing the word "evolution" used out of context is a pet peeve. You're conflating very different processes. There's no mechanism for separating out survival of the individual from survival of the species (which is an artificial concept at best). We've evolved to expand our footprint as much and as fast as possible, which we've done with terrifying success. That this will ultimately doom us is a regrettable limitation of evolutionary dynamics.

Our chances of developing a better social awareness are diminishing daily. Stresses -- such as those created by climate change -- tend to destabilize civilizations and stoke fears. And fearful humans basically revert to our most base emotional instincts. Social constructs are fragile; they won't save us.

[lagomorph777]

12. Well, then, it was nice knowing you.

I however choose not to give up just yet.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

13. social (and anti-social) behavior is just another factor in evolution

If anti-social behavior results in too few individuals surviving to reproduce ahead of other herd-limiting factors, then the entire species goes extinct. Darwinism at work. Social evolution at work.

[lagomorph777]

16. +1. It's not conflation; it's part of species survival or doom (for many species).

[Crunchy Frog]

15. Eh, life on Earth has survived a hell of a lot.

It's survived multiple "snowball Earth" episodes, and large, complex multicellular organisms survived the End Permian extinction. I don't expect that human activity will finally succeed in wiping it all out, where major past global catastrphes have failed.

Things will likely become extremely uncomfortable for us, and there could be a major population crash, but it won't be the end of the world.

[raccoon]

5. I was going to call and express my opinion to that church.

I was going to call and express my opinion to that church.

my original message:

In case you want to express your opinion to Pastor Lucas. I’m about to do so.

Phone number of the racist church: 434-352-7808

Never mind—I keep getting “Your call cannot be completed as dialed.” I guess they’ve already been getting a lot of blowback.

[Wounded Bear]

8. If only the Civil War had ended at Appomattox...

In much of the South, the feeling was, 'Lee surrendered. I didn't."

We're still fighting that war.

[lagomorph777]

10. Should've let the South go - and open our borders to escaped slaves.

Enact a Cuba-like economic blockade. Soften 'em up a little.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

14. "I don't want any Muslims in America."

Naturally, that was said by a member of the all-white congregation. If they oppose the U.S. Constitution, why don't they leave and set up their church in a country that excludes everyone they want to exclude?