[Note, in light of the subject of this essay's continuing refusal to apologise, recognise their errors, or show any humility or empathy, it is hard to maintain a sense of compassion for them; I thought they were merely ill - it seems they have deep hate; however, despite the recalcitrance and hole-digging, which seems deeply misguided at best, at worst, despicable, I will seek to maintain the position of trying to separate the sin and sinner. Though, for the time being, I can support those who now seek to publicly remonstrate and demonstrate against Twitter and this person's ongoing foul fusillades against the Jewish people. It's time for Wiley to take responsibility and acknowledge the pain he is causing. I pray he does.]
Wiley has made a series of totally offensive and wrong anti-Semitic comments on Twitter, and was immediately banned (for a week) by the social media company - that false friend that encourages discord and profits by it - and has lost his management team, and likely, his career.
A talented musician and writer (he has won an Ivor Novello award, but it may be withdrawn), we now witness the skin-thin shallowness of the Black Lives Matter promise for so many. For, here is a Black Life - a clearly misguided, ill, troubled and lost man, who has expressed terrible, wicked ideas, in what appears to be a mental health induced spree.
Lily Allen briefly dared to express concern for his well-being, before being attacked for showing empathy for a soul in torment.
WHEN WILL WE LEARN?
As a Catholic, I can hate the sin, and love the sinner.
What a tragic waste, to completely cancel this important musical pioneer, whose work has meant so much to the Black community, and well beyond. Instead, when souls go wrong, and minds are weak, and say ignorant things, should we not try to reach out, inform, assist, heal, and help?
I know he has wounded the communities he has so offensively and wrongly lashed out at. And the police are investigating hate crimes. And these cannot be minimised as issues of ongoing critical concern.
I am not speaking of law here. I am speaking of love, whose importance is shown by just those moments, when pariahs are born.
Our Lord waded into a stoning crowd to save a fallen woman, a prostitute, the lowest of the low to that crowd, and shielded her, because he saw beyond her deeds, to what was eternal and valid beneath the mud crust. Grime music, indeed.
This man's life matters, also. Someone should reach out and protect him from self harm at this moment. Our age of the mob must learn to separate the need for justice from the need to destroy, completely, those who, often from personal stress, trauma or distress, err online.
We all hold ideas, thoughts, opinions, that, if shared widely, would condemn us in the eyes of the crowd. No one is exempt from such flaws and humanity. Most of us carry hidden wounds, biases, and confusions of hate; we are not raised by angels. We must love one another, forgive when we can, and seek the common place where healing can begin. And we must help each other to sift the lies and conspiracies, the blood libels and hoaxes, from the true wheat.
I should add that there must remain a zero tolerance for anti-Semitism and race hatred - and that hatred of Jews is a scourge of our time, and the Church has much responsibility in history for that, sadly. To seek to help a criminal or broken soul is not to condone the crime, but to seek to save what can be saved.
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