Growing up on Hate

"The White Man is the Devil," she used to always tell her kids.
"Don't trust those blacks, they're all criminals," their mother warned them ...
"Jews cannot be trusted," their father cautioned.

Why do some parents think it's okay to teach hate to their children? Growing up I heard all of these things from an adult around me at some point. Thankfully, my mother knew better and set the record straight. She raised her children to see each person as a child of God. And taught us to judge for ourselves whether someone was to be trusted. And seldom, we learned, did a person's character have anything to do with their skin color, religion or sexual orientation. My siblings and I had friends of all persuasions and shared our lives with many. We are lucky.

Recently, I heard a sad story about a mother whose son is now accused of murder and other heinous crimes. And I can't help but remember him as a boy. Her sweet son had all the promise in the world: smart, cute as a button, curious and excited about the world around him. He was always playing games and tricks on his siblings. And his smile was infectious. Everyone loved him.

But I also remember the hateful and just downright ridiculous things his parents believed. No matter what group of people they were targeting at the moment, it was all hate, all the time. Whites were againist them, women were lose and after their men, those outside their religion were living wrong ... On and on it went and I never could understand why otherwise, good people living an upper middle class life were so filled with venom. They scared me.

Well it turns out, at least one of their children took their hate to heart and is now accused of acting on it by another's taking a life and injuring many others. That fun-loving child grew up to embrace all his parents' hate and as a man he followed other poisoned souls who blamed the world for their problems. Instead of being equipped with the skills he needed to go out and do some good in the world, the boy acted out his hate.

And now everyone is asking, "how could this happen? He was such a nice boy?"

Apparently, it's bad manners to remind misguided, grieving parents that if you raise a child up on hate you shouldn't be surprised if some of it sinks in and you get a monster back in return. Sadly, these parents and his family now have a lifetime to wonder what went wrong. But it's too late. The damage is done. Hopefully, they can find the courage to look into their own dark hearts and examine their hateful views. And maybe, even in their despair they will learn that love is strongest thing we can ever teach our children. It is the only thing that can give them the strength they need to make it in this crazy, confusing world.

So I'll keep that sweet boy and his victims in my prayers and hope that love will grace their families.