I am one of the dwindling number of people who remember the 1960’s. I was in uniform. I remember the violence on the streets, the attacks against uniformed service people in airports and public places, the hypocrisy of the so called peace movement turning America into a war zone. I was in California during some of it. The America I grew up in disappeared in the flames of Watts and the pot smoke of San Francisco. So, it pains me deeply to see the same thing happening again. And I wonder just how much resilience is left before the entire American system simply stops working in the face of mindless mobs of morally stupid children who have no idea what they are unleashing.
This week, anti immigration walkouts occurred at Tulsa Hale High School, Edison Prep and Jenks High School. The next day there were bomb threats at multiple Tulsa schools. Near Austin, a MAGA hat wearing man was beaten up by a group of high school students. The girl who started the incident bragged to media that she had beaten up an “old racist white man.” Following the same pattern used during the recent BLM riots the victim was arrested as the “primary aggressor” and no charges have been filed against the mob. The moral cowardice of local prosecutors and senior police officials, even in Texas, is mind boggling.
Around the country, some hotels, restaurants and retailers are refusing to serve federal agents. Some Democratic politicians are publicly stating that it is acceptable to attack and even shoot federal agents AND THEN TRYING TO PROSECUTE THEM WHEN THEY DEFEND THEMSELVES. Think about that for a moment. Around the nation, prosecutors are now regularly charging police officers who defend themselves on the street. What will they do to a church security worker that has to use deadly force?”
The church has a tendency to turn its head away from these things in the culture and try to hide behind the safety of their institutions. That worked in the 1960’s and the silent pulpits of the American church greatly helped give us the decline of the American church as a morally stabilizing force in the culture resulting in the moral and spiritual quagmire that America is today. But this time, the church is not off limits. Long gone are the generations that at least respected the institution of the church even if they didn’t believe or attend. The following is a quote from Albert Mohler, a leading conservative voice among Southern Baptists:
“This past Lord’s Day, a Christian church was invaded by leftist protesters. Cities Church, a young evangelical congregation in St. Paul, Minn., was gathered for worship, just as the church gathers every Sunday, committed to biblical worship and the power of the gospel …As the congregation was worshiping, activists invaded the church building, interrupting worship, and shouting their political messages ... As the protesters shouted down the service, it became clear that the congregation was targeted because one of its elder/pastors is the acting field director for ICE in the region. Christians need to recognize that this latest activist tactic is unprecedented in modern American history.
“Just think seriously about what happened, and imagine it happening in your church. But, you say, we don’t have an acting field director of ICE in our congregation. There is no current culture war in the streets of our community. We are safe. If you think that, you are wrong—sadly wrong and dangerously wrong. What happened in the Twin Cities may not be happening in your community, but there is no reason to believe it will not happen, right where you live and right where you worship. A critical boundary has been crossed.
“…. the great danger for American evangelicals is that we will minimize among ourselves the reality of what happened. A signal has been sent. The left is now willing and some comments indicate even eager to invade and intimidate Christian congregations that violate their progressive agenda. In an increasingly secular America, with cultural tensions running high, a church service is no longer off limits to political disturbance or demonstration.”
A few churches are now scrambling for band aid fixes to their security program, if they even have one, to try to cope with a society that is quickly turning violent against them. This is not a problem that lends itself well to band aid fixes and simple tactics. As we teach in our situational awareness classes, verbal de-escalation does not work with mobs because you are not dealing with an individual but rather a multi-headed hydra with a collective mind bent upon violence. It also doesn’t work well with mentally ill or irrational people because there is no solid basis for dialogue. Both of these principles apply to the current situation.
To understand that last statement, it is necessary to look back over seventy five years to words written in prison cell by a German pastor awaiting execution by the Nazis in the final days of WWII. In his famous “Letters From Prison” Pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer described the moral stupidity that allowed an advanced Christian nation to become the epitome of evil in one generation:
“Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil;
it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against (moral) stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed — in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical — and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the (morally) stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.
“…. Upon closer observation, it becomes apparent that every strong upsurge of power in the public sphere, be it of a political or of a religious nature, (the Obama/Biden years, radical Islam, pro-illegal immigration) infects a large part of humankind with stupidity. It would even seem that this is virtually a sociological-psychological law. The power of the one needs the stupidity of the other. The process at work here is not that particular human capacities, for instance, the intellect, suddenly atrophy or fail. Instead, it seems that under the overwhelming impact of rising power, humans are deprived of their inner independence, and, more or less consciously, give up establishing an autonomous position toward the emerging circumstances.
“The fact that the (morally) stupid person is often stubborn must not blind us to the fact that he is not independent. In conversation with him, one virtually feels that one is dealing not at all with a person, but with slogans, catchwords and the like, that have taken possession of him. He is under a spell, blinded, misused, and abused in his very being. Having thus become a mindless tool, the stupid person will also be capable of any evil and at the same time incapable of seeing that it is evil. This is where the danger of diabolical misuse lurks, for it is this that can once and for all destroy human beings.
‘Yet at this very point it becomes quite clear that only an act of liberation, not instruction, can
overcome stupidity. Here we must come to terms with the fact that in most cases a genuine internal liberation becomes possible only when external liberation has preceded it. (In the micro tactical sense this means breaking up the mob, something no church security team is capable of doing. ed. ) Until then we must abandon all attempts to convince the stupid person. This state of affairs explains why in such circumstances our attempts to know what ‘the people’ really think are in vain and why, under these circumstances, this question is so irrelevant for the person who is thinking and acting responsibly. The word of the Bible that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom declares that the internal liberation of human beings to live the responsible life before God is the only genuine way to overcome (moral) stupidity” Bonhoeffer Theory of Stupidity
So, when forming your church security team’s policy toward church invaders/prosecutors keep these facts in mind:
The police will be slow in responding and their response will be highly politically nuanced. You are going to have to handle this situation yourself for several minutes or longer.
The invaders/protesters are seeking a confrontation. Well meaning attempts at dialogue and persuasion will only give them the opportunity they need for that verbal (or physical) confrontation.
The invaders/protesters are looking for a reason to physically escalate the situation. Do not give it to them unless absolutely necessary to protect members of your flock.
Be aware that some of the invaders/protesters may be professionally trained agitators who know how to use disposable weapons like sand or gravel in a sock or frozen water bottles that will inflict serious physical injury but can be disposed of quickly leaving no physical evidence to support your claim of self defense.
If you are compelled to use force in self defense, it is almost certain that you will be arrested and charged and invaders/protesters will not. This has happened time and again in previous events in the past few years. There is no political downside to arresting the victims since law abiding Christians don’t burn neighborhoods and cars, violently target public officials or take vicious long term political revenge through people and means you would never expect.
If possible, the moment you see a group of invaders/protesters assembling: (a) dismiss services and evacuate the building through exits away from the group (b) make sure that people who can’t get to their cars are offered rides to a safe place (c) if the preceding two are not possible disperse your congregation on foot into the surrounding neighborhood away from the protest and wait for police to clear the scene so that they can get to their cars and (d) if (c) is necessary instruct your deacons and other trustworthy men to assist the elderly, the physically challenged and people with small children in the evacuation and dispersion.
DO NOT SHOW A WEAPON. WEAPONS SHOULD REMAIN HOLSTERED AND OUT OF SIGHT UNLESS AND UNTIL A DEADLY FORCE INCIDENT CREATED BY THE INVADER/PROTESTER IS PRESENTED.
If the above is not possible go into strong lockdown, get children with their parents and assemble them all in the most secure areas of your facility. The rioters will not respect your boundaries. They will try to break down doors, come through windows and seek access through any possible means. So, your lockdown plans need to include hardening entrances and possible access points.
There are predictable phases of genocide. The final phase is tribalism. In this phase, the population is so divided that they no longer see each other as neighbors and fellow human beings but rather as political symbols that either support or oppose their tribe. Those who do not slavishly support the tribe’s beliefs and actions become the enemy. The enemy is not human and deserves to be destroyed. The US has reached this phase.
In closing, remember the preceding statements by Albert Mohler: A critical boundary has been crossed … a church service is no longer off limits to political disturbance or demonstration.”
No comments:
Post a Comment