Friday, January 13, 2012

thoughts on the news of the day: signs

hmmm…..
                Really?  I usually try to stay away from controversial issues, but  I could not back away from  this one.  A woman in Cincinnati, OH who owns a duplex there, posted a sign on the property’s swimming pool that said “whites only”.  Really?  Can you feel my outrage pouring out from my screen to yours?  Would that mean that President Obama and his family could not swim in the pool?  The most powerful leader in the world banned from a pool?  Really?  The rest of the story is that the courts ruled that the sign “ violated the Civil Rights Act” and it was taken down.  Thank God. 
                We think those days of discrimination are over.  And then something crazy like this happens.  Guess we were wrong.  In some parts of the country, apparently discrimination is alive and well.
                But I want to say something about other "parts of the country".  I have never been there, but I know for a fact that Ohio is not all bad.  A good friend of mine who is all about freedom for all people,  lives in Cincinnati. 
                I met two women this week at Austin Seminary who are passionate and compassionate.  They each serve as pastors of churches in tiny towns in Ohio.  My guess is that there is no way they would ever support such nonsense as allowing a “whites only” sign anywhere.   So we can’t condemn Ohio on the grounds of one woman’s stupid sign.  But we can condemn racist behavior anywhere we see it.  It’s the right thing to do.
                hmmm…..

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