Have you heard
the 911 call? Recorded live as a gunman stormed a school in Georgia
on Tuesday, a calm woman took control of chaos and helped avoid another Newtown
mass shooting.
The hero of the
moment is Antoinette Tuff, a bookkeeper at the Ronald E. McNair Academy. When
the fully armed (packing 500 rounds of ammunition) suspect Michael Brandon Hill
stormed the school, by some stroke of good fortune and God's grace it was
Antoinette who talked the would-be mass murderer off the proverbial
ledge. You must listen to the call. She schooled those who would
ever hope to train as hostage negotiators.
What is so
stunning is that she spoke to the shooter first and foremost as a person and
not as potential murderer or mentally unstable person. She called Hill 'sir'
and 'sweetie.' She confessed her own struggles. At one point she told him
"I just want you to know I love you, though, OK? And I'm proud of
you."
When it was all
over and no lives were lost, it was clear that Antoinette was fully aware of
the danger she was in on that day. She also said "Oh Jesus" when it
was finally over. I do not know of her religious upbringing, but I
have a hunch that her church and faith formation gave her the words and the
courage to tell the shooter that she did not hate him. All would be
well.
We say at each
baptism service that we covenant to live out our faith by "respecting the
dignity of every human being." How do we do that? The school
bookkeeper from Decatur showed us the way. Share our humanity. Do
not hate. Meet suffering with compassion and look to God to deliver us from
moments beyond our ability to manage alone.
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