Coronavirus versus White Supremacy: Which Is Worse?

COVID-19 is shaking the planet. For the first time in our lives, we are weathering a global crisis. Here in the United States, many are experiencing what our own poor and Third World neighbors live with all the time: terror, upheaval, and financial insecurity. It stinks, doesn’t it? Most of us have no idea of what it must feel like to walk in their shoes. We don’t even want to walk down their street. We believe that’s where Real Fear resides.

The Stock Market versus Stocking Up at the Market

No one is more grateful than I for the provision of God. My husband and I don’t have the worries of those who invested in the stock market, because we are (by American standards) poor. Kevin’s job was suspended last week, and we’re not at all sure when it will resume. My job is as fluid in it’s certainty as every other paid-by-the-hour hireling. But we do have a small home, a small savings account, and no debt. Our kids are grown and gone. We are in far better straits than many.

With millions of Americans suffering from job loss as well as the fear of the Coronavirus, I will refrain at this time from lamenting the loss of Christianity in the US as we knew it. I will, however, request that those who believe Donald Trump leads our country in espousing Christian values: please put yourself in the shoes of the suffering. It’s a little easier to do now, isn’t it? Even though, secretly, we are pretty sure that our situation will improve. We are, after all, the United States of America. We are not trying to save our children from gang violence in Guatemala. We’d like to believe that most of us are not desperate to escape poverty. Then again, most of us are out of touch with people who need food stamps and Medicaid. When this is all said and done, who among us will have become “them”?

I hope this disaster reminds us all that we are not “the chosen ones.” If this crisis teaches us nothing else, let it bring home the fact that we are connected by heartstrings to every human on the planet. As Christians, we should be even more so. We are the Lord’s hands and feet on terra firma. Let us resist the temptation to use this nightmare to close ranks and pretend the Bible doesn’t teach compassion for aliens, kindness for strangers, and mercy for the poor. While we are mandated by common decency to help our neighbors, our own fear and suffering is no excuse to shake the rest of the world off of our privileged shoulders. They will still be there, and still be suffering, when we are back on our feet.

What is Real Evil?

COVID-19 is not evil. It’s a virus. But the emergence of this threat is inadvertently revealing a true evil, as is evidenced in today’s headline from ABC News: “White Supremacists encouraging members to spread coronavirus to cops, Jews: FBI”

This, my friends, is where my Real Fear resides.

These low-life scum completely believe that they are the “chosen ones”, and Donald Trump is their savior. It sounds like a bad joke from an SNL skit, but it’s terrifyingly true. Without giving them any air time or publicity, this unconscionable evil spun off from the Religious Right. They are real, they are the Devil Incarnate, and they have very weird ideas backed up by firearms, stockpiles of supplies, and compounds. They have their own news publications that make Fox News sound legit. If you thought the KKK was bad, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

Our gut-level fears usually come from the belief, however fleeting,  that we won’t have our needs met: food, shelter, security, freedom from emotional or physical pain. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches his followers otherwise. From a lifetime of seeing God’s mercy in my own circumstances, I’d like to believe I will continue to trust Him for provision, no matter what happens. The real fear I have, even though I know God is not fazed by this dark reality, is the meteoric rise of white supremacy. Evil scares me far worse than any virus. Illness may kill the body, but evil kills the soul. The number of hate groups in Colorado tripled in eight years, according to an annual report on hate and extremism in America.*

I don’t know about you, but having read the Bible, I am absolutely certain that Jesus Christ would grieve over the actions of these bottom-feeding monsters.

What Can We Do?

Folks, these are terrifying times. Go ahead and post uplifting memes on Facebook to encourage us all; that’s not a bad thing. Better yet, volunteer in your community to help stock the food banks. Brave the supermarket for the elderly. Read to kids over the internet. Do whatever good you can do.

But above all, do not be misled. The Coronavirus will pass, but evil will not be destroyed until the Day of Christ Jesus. Be on your guard, pray hard, read the Gospels, and live out the commands of our Lord and Savior. Stand up for the poor, the stranger, the hungry, and the homeless. And always remember:

“But though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet.”-from the hymn This Is My Father’s World, by Maltbie Davenport Babcock.

©2020 Rachel Ophoff, Coconut Mountain Communications LLC. All Rights Reserved.

*by Megan Webber, The Denver Post, 3/19/2020