I wrote earlier in response to what a friend wrote earlier (my friend being definitely one of the good, thinking guys I respect and, like many of his type, has been exercised by recent happenings).

“My quandary is do I go down all the nooks and crannies and still leave myself open to genuine #whatabout responses in one of my customary “disgusted of Tunbridge Wells” blogs or do I just get on changing what I can change and leave the pontificating to those who are so inclined. I am told this week by Mrs B, as she has a week off, it needs to be former. I was going to say … no I’m not going to go there … other than to register my protest the world has gone mad, which is bad enough, but worse is that our virtue signalling Christian leaders, or at least the ones that people notice, have been sucked in, and the flock is getting misled taboot. I won’t get sucked into do I don’t I condemn the killing of George Floyd (you know the answer). Moreover, it isn’t relevant. All lives matter is a cliché that happens to be true as with the deeper matter of many issues matter to do with all lives matter, just as much as the one that has given rise to the craziness we are now all witnessing”.

So where do I start? Do I have a further pop at Christian leaders like our two archbishops, obsessed it seems with white privilege, aided by the bishops, ignoring real threats and the true gospel, or those bowing their knee embarrassed by said privilege, or some of my eclectic group of friends getting on their high horses and going on demos, or the demos which we like to think are peaceful but in reality often aren’t, or the hypocrisy of the left leaners who up to now have advocated strict social distancing due to Covid-19 but because of George Floyd’s murder choose to break the rules big time, or the many other black lives (most of which were not criminal) who have been killed, often whilst doing something that is right, and yet overlooked, or the record showing movements like Antifa and Black Lives Matter are led by the bad guys, or point out other groups were treated badly in the past we should be protesting concerning, such as Jews, or other happenings that should arouse our righteous indignation, like the millions of babies aborted each year, Chinese Communist Party crackdown on the Hong Kong protesters, or the many killed every year just because of their beliefs. I could go on, e.g. anger that we are being forced back into accepting identity politics or a biblical counter like “there is none righteous, not even one“, or the Bible teaching about redemption, that sins can be atoned for, and we can ask for, offer and receive forgiveness from / to God and others, but I think by now you will have got my drift.

Then there is the changing narrative and, whether we like it or not, the focus is on America and especially one Donald J Trump with the rest of the world jumping in unison. They couldn’t get him on impeachment or corona ineptitude so it is back to race, even though as one articulate black lady, Candace Owens, argues, he has done more for helping black people than the Democrat Party and their allies, who talk the talk but do **** all, and who will do what they can, democratic or not, legal or not, to get rid of the one who has got their number and if he hangs around their crimes will be exposed. Are the protests orchestrated as part of some treacherous, dastardly plot by the Deep State? Probably, but then I mustn’t say that or be wrapped on my knuckles by my nice Christian friends, and in any case, history will no doubt have the final say and we can all look back and say we have been had. And if you think I am going off track again then check out this disturbing report: Archbishop Viganò’s powerful letter to President Trump: Eternal struggle between good and evil playing out right now. What the world needs right now is to repent and return to the Lord and plead with Him over various injustices and to rescue us, for He uses calamities to get our attention! Sadly, as far as most Christian leaders goes, I won’t hold my breath for them to take a lead soon.

Let me end on some positives. I have no doubt the killing of George Floyd was an egregious crime that needs to be prosecuted, that racism (overt and covert) exists, measures are still needed to address racisim (but not tearing down statues, and certainly not defunding police forces) and as a white man I am less likely to be on the wrong end of racist attacks (although I have no doubt my experience of other areas of attack is not unique). Black lives matter as do all lives. This was brought home in my latest prophet study – Jeremiah. According to Wikipedia “Ebed-Melech is notable for rescuing the prophet Jeremiah from the cistern into which he had been cast to his death (Jeremiah 38:4–13)”. What is also notable is that brother Ebed was a black man and sad as it might seem Jem’s only friend. Then talking of black men stepping up to the plate, I read today a tribute to a black guy who played a pivotal role in a missionary organization I got involved in, in my late teens. His encouraging leadership taught me that all sorts of things mattered, including all lives. And finally, a refreshing story (read about it here) titled: “I’m a black man from Chicago who moved to Alabama, and here’s what I found”. On a personal note, I might reel off my record of being a friend to the Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) community, married to a black girl and like Martin Luther King Junior put store on one’s content of character rather than one’s colour of skin, or point to the fact that my own conservative leaning church has a disproportionately high number of BME folk, who are more conservative than the white members.

We can get righteously indignant over all sorts of things. Personally, I am outraged by child traffiking and elite paedophilia that goes unprosecuted and unlike racism of the past these present injustices we can do something about. If it is about the past, I suggest it is a matter of owning up to it, albeit with the caveat we cannot keep harping on about the bad things our fore fathers did over which we had no part in, as there will be no end, making reparations if it clearly does good and makes sense to do so, and moving on, since there are plenty of injustices occuring right now that ought to bother us. One of these is widespread, insidious modern slavery – and that involves black and white. I tend not to do protests, as I’d much rather concentrate on doing my bit with things I can change e.g. homelessness injustice, but I respect the right of others to protest, providing it is peaceful and within the law. If there is a way forward. it is one based on righteousness and reconciliation. My plea is people show proportionality and respect for others who also have legitimate gripes, and not to be taken in by the bad guys!