David Marcham Reflection on Pyramid of Hate M, 16 JUNE 2008
When I was dumped from my Kansas church I moved to an apartment complex with cheap rent.
Right below my apartment a group of young African-American men would congregate most evenings. I was in ill humor from my feelings of rejection and being unemployed. For a period of time they seemed to get more uncomfortable with me and I with them. One day I met one young man in the laundromat and I explained my situation to him and he opened up to me. They were primarily from Florida on scholarship to play on the college football team. In Florida their culture involved visiting out front of their residences on the street. Once we better understood one another tension eased and by next fall they were putting me on their list for free admission to football games. Especially when I was young I heard my share of racial/ethnic slurs and did little or nothing to resist them.
Had I been born into a Klan family in early 1900's US of A I would have been ripe for doing cross-burnings, lynchings, terrorism, assault, and the like. Acts of violence and killings would not have been out of the question. Despite my humanity and Christian faith I know my “heart of darkness”. Yes, I am capable of being manipulated, convinced, and invited to oppress, discriminate against, and kill people who are different than me. How do I know this? Because I killed a piglet in Haiti in a blind rage once while serving as a missionary. Could I do it again with a human being? Yes.