Sketch by Matthew Hynds
Sketch by Matthew Hynds
By Matthew Hynds
Following the church massacre in Charleston, South Carolina, there has been an outpouring of grief, and forgiveness, on the part of the families and friends of those who were killed.

Sketch by Matthew Hynds

On Friday 19th June, Dylan Roof, 21, appeared in court via video link to begin answering the charges that are set against him. He is suspected of murdering nine people with a handgun, given to him by his father as a 21st birthday present. The racial motive seems beyond doubt, as the congregation was black, Roof is white, and he was quoted by one of the survivors as saying, during the assault: “I have to do it. You rape our women and you’re taking over our country. And you have to go.”
The overwhelming sentiment from those whose lives have been torn apart by this dreadful crime has been one of forgiveness. Just two days on from seeing her mother killed in front of her, the daughter of 70-year-old Ethel Lance, said: “You took something really precious from me. I will never talk to her again. But I forgive you and have mercy on your soul. You hurt me. You hurt a lot of people. But God forgives you. I forgive you.”
Her voice was breaking as she said it, while Roof stared impassively straight ahead.
What to make of such extraordinary magnanimity? It is hard to find the words. However, I will make this observation: the role of religion in this case, as a powerful force for good, cannot be overstated. Too often, perhaps, I and others are guilty of dwelling on the negative aspects of religious adherence, without stopping to consider the reasons why intelligent and honourable men and women choose to incorporate religion into their lives. Friday’s scene in the South Carolina court supplied one irrefutable reason: for those Christians who truly follow the teachings of Christ in the spirit in which they were passed on, there is a generosity of spirit and an inner strength that is hardly seen anywhere else. This applies just as readily to Muslims in respect to Mohammed, and to other religious orders. For those to whom religion is fundamental to who they are, who place deep importance in the principles of tolerance and compassion, it seems that no life-altering event, no matter how awful, can wrest them from their moral foundations. In light of what has been visited upon this community, that is an achievement that shines like a beacon across the entire world.
How incredibly powerful to oppose such an act of hatred and cowardice with such courage, and love. Especially considering the suffering that has already been endured by this – and other – black American communities in the past. We do not have to venture very far into the past to find examples.
It was in April of this year that a black man, Walter Scott, was shot in the back and killed by a police officer in the same town of Charleston. Prior to that, Eric Garner was brutally wrestled to the ground by police officers on the streets of New York, and died in a choke hold. In November 2014, a twelve year-old kid – Tamir Rice – was shot and killed by police officers in Cleveland, Ohio, for brandishing a replica gun. And of course, in 2012, Trayvon Martin was shot dead for walking through a gated community in Florida, on his way back from a sweet shop. His killer, George Zimmerman, was acquitted of second degree murder and manslaughter, and walked free.
Shamefully, and predictably, the gun lobby has once again wasted no time in using this latest unspeakable crime as an opportunity to advocate wider gun ownership, and relaxed gun laws. Erich Pratt, of the pressure group Gun Owners of America, has opined that the murdered pastor at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal church should have armed himself with a concealed weapon. Charles L. Cotton, of the National Rifle Association, went further, saying the man – Clementa Pinckney – who was also a state senator, should never have voted against the idea of carrying a concealed weapon. He wrote: “eight of his church members who might be alive if he had expressly allowed members to carry handguns in church are dead. Innocent people died because of his position on a political issue.”
Again, it is hard to find the words. Does “callous” fit with heaping blame on a murdered church leader for taking a stand against carrying guns in church, when his body has barely had a chance to cool? How about “insensitive”?
It is hard to see a solution to the gun problem in America. There are something in the region of three hundred million guns in private ownership, which is getting on for one gun for every man, woman and child. Even if stricter gun control laws were to be passed – which does not look at all likely within the foreseeable future – there is no escaping the fact that the country is awash with guns. Whenever there have been restrictions placed on buying assault rifles (as an example), there is a massive surge in the sale of those weapons, as people stock up. Even if guns were to be banned outright – which is of course unthinkable – there are so many guns already in private ownership, that you would have to ask: what difference would it make?
Has it got to the point where ordinary people really do need to be armed, in schools, and churches, and cinemas, and when they are out and about on the street? Because nobody knows when a maniac is going to spring out of nowhere, armed to the teeth..? As an outsider looking in, from this peaceful suburb in the UK, I really have no idea. But my instincts tell me that the love, compassion and humanity embodied by that tight-knit community in Charleston, South Carolina, in the wake of this devastating affront on their most basic right to exist, holds the key to the future. We can all learn from them.