Signs, Slogans, and Chants

Last week I participated in the “March for Peace, Justice & Humanity” in West Chester co-hosted by the Mayor, the Chester County Sheriff’s office, and the West Chester NAACP.  Some 5,000 people marched peacefully from Borough Hall to the Historic Courthouse, where several speakers shared their perspectives and issued a “call to action for justice and humanity for all.”

I was glad to be among the participants.  By assembling in this way, we were affirming that all people are endowed “with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”  Some of the voices in the crowd and at the podium recognized that this endowment comes from God; others just took it as a given that being human must mean having the right to experience equality, peace, dignity, justice, and freedom.

The mood of the march was mostly somber, but waves of energy pulsated through the masses as certain chants echoed up and down Gay Street.  People were wearing masks and, for the most part, walked in a way that observed “social distancing” (once the crowd converged at the Courthouse, there was little distancing).  Many had signs saying, “Justice for George Floyd,” or “I Can’t Breathe.”

Of course, there were other signs.  And people were very creative.  A few signs were vulgar and profane.  But the vast majority were thought-provoking.  Many signs had messages I felt I could support wholeheartedly.  Some conveyed truth but “went too far,” in my opinion.  Certain signs matched the chants that someone way up ahead in the crowd initiated.  Let me mention some of these signs and chants and offer a few comments:

“Silence Is Violence.” There is truth in this declaration.  When we recognize evil and are able to say or do something about it, but instead we stand idly by, we “aid and abet” others’ wrong actions.  Picture the priest and the Levite who look the other way and ignore the man left for dead in Jesus’ story (Luke 10:25-37)—their inaction, much like muted lips, is displeasing to God.  “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin” (James 4:17).

And yet, silence isn’t always violence.  Sometimes it’s right to be quiet, to listen and learn—in fact, that’s one of the major messages in our current cultural moment.  So we need discernment to know when to keep quiet and when to speak up—and the Lord is ready to give us wisdom when we ask for it (James 1:5).  Let’s be ready to speak out on behalf of the weak and disadvantaged.  And ready, as well, to give an account of the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15).  But be slow to speak out when you’re driven by rage (James 1:19) or by an impulse to protect or advance your own personal interests.

“No Justice, No Peace.” This is a reasonable statement.  When people are denied justice and forced to endure inequities, they will rightly refuse to be placid—they will rightly protest.  Now I don’t say this to justify acts of violence in response to injustice.  The integrity of non-violent protest in pursuit of peace and justice is apparent:  after all, what sense is there in using violence to express your objection to violence (you discredit your own moral position)?

Still, some say that only violence and destruction will get the attention of complacent power-holders.  But this is not the American way—in this country we have legal, peaceful processes for seeking justice (sometimes they’re slow, but they can lead to real positive change).  And, what’s more, this is not the Christian way—in Scripture God makes it plain that injustice is ultimately his business:  “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord” (Romans 12:19).  Retaliation is not what followers of Jesus do (Matthew 5:38-42).  So this slogan is valid, but it raises the “how” question—how we take action in the face of injustice is the key concern.

“Defund the Police.” It seems protestors are going for a shock-effect with this one.  I don’t think most activists really want to eliminate all paid law enforcement workers in our society; surely the vast majority of sign-waving Americans know this would open the doors to rampant crime and disorder and suffering.  Yes, there may be a radical fringe that imagines a utopia where everyone suddenly becomes kind and good and compassionate—but that kind of naïve outlook is, I believe, very rare and hard to take seriously.

And yet, there is merit in grappling with the slogan, “Defund the police”:  we do well to ask how public funding of emergency services could perhaps be handled better than it is now, and we do well to make sure that policing is done as wisely and appropriately as possible.  No doubt there is room for improvement.  Let the frustration in today’s protests prompt us, as a society, to think again about how best to “serve and protect” the public.

“Black Lives Matter.” This is a true statement.  And it’s something Christians should readily and gladly affirm.  The grievous, sinful record of slavery and Jim Crow and segregation (etc.) make it very understandable that black Americans would feel a need to speak out and say, “Our Lives Matter.”  We should all be able to recognize this as a positive assertion, and join in with declaring it.

Pastor Mika Edmondson has a really helpful message entitled, “Is Black Lives Matter the New Civil Right Movement?”  He offers this key clarification:  “I just want to clear up a common misconception about the Black Lives Matter sentiment. Black Lives Matter does not mean ‘black lives matter only.’ It means ‘black lives matter too.’ It’s a contextualized statement, like saying ‘children’s lives matter.’ That doesn’t mean adult lives don’t matter. But in a culture that demeans and disparages them, we understand we have to say forthrightly and particularly that children’s lives matter. In the face of a historic and contemporary context that has uniquely disparaged black life as not worth valuing or protecting in the same way as others, they are saying black lives matter just as much as every other life.”  Take time to read (or listen to) his excellent message.

Edmondson also helps us navigate the distinction between BLM the organization and BLM the “sentiment.”  He notes that BLM the organization takes positions on certain moral issues that are problematic for Bible-believing Christians—such as re-envisioning sexuality and marriage from a “queer-affirming” perspective.  So I’m much more ready to applaud the truth that “Black Lives Matter” than I am to endorse the organization “Black Lives Matter.”  Again, then, with these various slogans and signs, you have to clarify what you mean and how you’re using language.  And that means being calm and patient and interacting with others rather than just making pronouncements.  Now one more slogan…

“No good cops in a racist system.” I get it.  The frustration here is with past attempts to tweak the law or the criminal justice system or police training, only to discover that such mild reforms simply aren’t enough.  Injustices keep happening—and some of them, it seems, as a result of entrenched racism.  So the whole system, some claim, is bad—it’s a “racist system.”

My response here would be to concede that, at least in some settings, the whole criminal justice system may in fact be very deficient and should be dramatically changed.  But still:  this slogan is not helpful. In fact, this slogan endangers lives—the lives of police, and the lives of the many Americans they serve and protect.  Even in the case of a law enforcement system that has been deeply influenced by racism, it is going way too far to say that such a police force would have “no good cops”—none, not one officer who really respects all the people and strives to enforce the law justly.  So the blanket statement, “No good cops in a racist system,” fails the wisdom test.

Brothers and sisters, these are turbulent times.  We’re all walking the path of a pandemic (quite a challenge in and of itself!).  And we’re also grappling with how our society—even our humanity—can be twisted in ways that bring suffering especially upon certain groups of people.  It all feels overwhelming; at times we just don’t know what to do or say.  In the midst of it all, run to Jesus, again and again:  confess your sin (including pride, which may take the form of racism); lay down your defensive reflexes; ask the Lord to humble your heart; receive his renewing grace afresh with joy; rest in his secure mercy; and step forward with Jesus to show his love and speak his gospel.