As large portions of the world celebrate the death of Osama Bin Laden, someone in my facebook friendship network dared to post this as their update this morning:
"I mourn the loss of thousands of precious lives, but I will not rejoice in the death of one, not even an enemy. Returning hate for hate multiplies hate, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that" — Martin Luther King Jnr
Throughout the day people copied and pasted this as their own update and eventually this message of hope and love drowned out the celebration of murder (cos it’s STILL murder, even if the victim was a terrorist) I was reading about in my newsfeed.
I love this for a few reasons…
… This proves what the quote was saying - that ‘not hating’ isn’t enough – you need to REPLACE the darkness with something… Light.
… The message of love will spread by itself, not because someone guilt tripped you into re-posting it. Because ultimately, I believe, we are a people who do not want to hate, but want to believe in love and the power it holds.
… When one person has the courage to stand up with a message contrary to that of the media and their peers (even if it is just a fb update), others will stand up with them.
What are you standing up for today?
As for me, I stand with Martin Luther King Jnr and declare that I do not celebrate the death of one. Not even an enemy. We are not the giver of life, so we are not the one to take it away.
I dare you to stand with me. In love.
Just sayin...
J xo
