As Chattanooga tries to make sense from the senseless violence of last week, many are still seeking that voice that will bring closure – a transcendent moment that will move us forward in resolve to put anger and bias and vengefulness behind us.
We’ve seen some glimmers: The ribbon of flags and mementos brought by people to honor five dead servicemen killed by a homegrown gunman now investigated as a terrorist. The neighbors of that now-dead shooter, Mohammad Youssef Abdulazeez, caring for the family’s home and lawn while the young man’s parents and sisters grieve and cooperate with police. Certainly a high point was the more than 1,000 people who came to an interfaith memorial service Friday night at Olivet Baptist Church to give voice to the new “We are Chattanooga strong” mantra. Another high point was Gov. Bill Haslam quoting the Old Testament and praying that Chattanooga “would be a city that answers hate with love.” A standing ovation to applaud dozens of Muslims after they stood in support of this city and in allegiance to this nation was an important moment, too.
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But we’re a long way from being out of the woods.
In pockets, hate came back to Chattanooga over the weekend and on Monday – sometimes in places we should least expect it, like our public defender’s office and a church that preaches hate while misidentifying its message as Christian.