Is society sick or healthy?
How I See It with Denzil McDaniel • Published 9 Feb 2012 09:00
0 Comments
I've been interested this week in observing the attitudes and behaviour of people towards two prominent churchmen.
The Rev. Ian Paisley and the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu. Two very different characters, I'm sure you will agree, but both have been in the news this week and while most people show the men due respect, a small group of people have behaved in such a way as to wonder if it's human nature to resort to base and sick behaviour in the most appalling way.
As I write, it appears that Ian Paisley is gravely ill. Generally, his family's wishes for privacy have been respected.
I was, however, shocked to read on Twitter that some people had been posting particularly nasty comments. Journalist Ivan Little tweeted his condemnation of it, and so say all of us. Who is it that is sick, somebody asked.
I suppose I shouldn't be shocked. There are some awful people about.
Of course, Ian Paisley isn't everyone's cup of tea. He has been a dominant figure in Northern Ireland politics for virtually all of my lifetime, and there is no doubt that the time will come for a critical analysis of his contribution. This will range from high praise to severe criticism.
The big Doc himself will hardly worry; he'll be the first to say that the only judgement that matters is that of his Lord and Master.
But as of now, with an 85 year-old man lying so ill, it makes you despair to think that there are people who think of the situation this family find themselves as good material for sick and twisted humour.
One of the problems of the plethora of social media is that these nutters find a voice, an outlet for their bile.
Last summer, during a period when I and the Impartial Reporter were taking a bit of flak from our critics, the brave folk resorted to Facebook. Some of it wasn't nice and when a friend worriedly brought it to my attention, I was pretty laid back about it. I felt it was the sort of nonsense that's been talked about privately for years, maybe in pub conversations or in little groups of bitter and twisted opponents.
Stuff them, I thought.
I think most people with an ounce of humanity, opponents and otherwise, would empathise with what the Paisleys are going through. All of us have our trials, after all.
The reaction to Archbishop Sentamu was even more sinister.
Many people in Fermanagh will remember his visit to the Clogher Diocese a few years ago.
I heard him preach at Aghavea and also met him when he called at the Impartial office.
He preached a wonderful sermon about having your sins forgiven. On a personal level, I found him a lovely man, very witty and engaging.
Later, on the Andrew Marr show one Sunday morning, I watched in admiration as the Archbishop discussed the plight of people in Zimbabwe under the harsh regime of Robert Mugabe. Dr. Sentamu, on live television, removed his white dog collar and cut it up with scissors, saying he wouldn't wear it again until the people of Zimbabwe were free from tyranny. A dramatic gesture, no doubt, but one which hit home and effectively highlighted the suffering of people in a far off land.
John Sentamu has many qualities; a fine Christian, a caring and principled man, witty and humorous and a great leader of people.
It would never have occurred to me that anyone would ever have described him as homophobic and sent him abusive hate mail. But that is exactly what has happened.
The Archbishop fully accepts same sex civil partnerships and has never uttered an anti-gay comment in his life.
But in an interview, the Archbishop says he believes that the description of a marriage only applies to the relationship between a man and a woman. He believes that this is the meaning of marriage in the English language, and has been for centuries.
You may think, as I do, that he is perfectly entitled to express this view and there is nothing unreasonable about it.
But there is a gay militant lobby at work, and the Archbishop has been subjected to a number of racist, malicious, abusive and threatening emails which have prompted a police investigation under hate crime legislation.
There's something very ironic about people who claim that the Archbishop was promoting inequality and then attack him purely on the basis of the colour of his skin. (He's black, by the way, if that is of any relevance.)
Sometimes, you get the feeling that almost everyone has the liberty to express their view - except Christians. Christ himself, of course, described those who were persecuted in His name as blessed.
And there are some Christians whose extreme attitudes hardly do their faith any favours.
Is society worse than ever? Look at the pages of this newspaper every week and you will see reports of some pretty awful human behaviour being brought before the courts. But remember, you will also see far more reports of good natured people.
You worry about all the twisted and sick minds out there .
Never forget, though, that they're in a minority and they will never win.
Return to the main index, get more from this section or browse our Opinion archives.
