Sometimes I feel so weak, I just want to explode
Explode and tear this whole town apart
Take a knife and cut this pain from my heart
Find somebody itching for something to start
              -Bruce Springsteen, “Promised Land”
from Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978)

Like many of you reading this, I am mystified by the acts of destruction that often erupt within a community that has been the victim of injustice.  It’s easy to understand the outrage and anger of the those who have been the victims of injustice and violence at the hands of the powerful.  It’s harder to understand why the violent response to the injustice suffered is so rarely directed against the oppressor and so often ends up inflicting damage on others who are just as disadvantaged. 

To the extent that I can understand it, I read it through the lens of what Springsteen wrote.  When we feel oppressed and victimized, lashing out in impotent rage is not a surprising reaction.  Looking on from outside we might be confused by or even angry with the violent rage of victims.  Their reactions might even make it difficult for us to recognize the ways in which their anger is justified.  The rage of the victim is often not focused and not chosen rationally or strategically.  Victims often harm other victims and inadvertently advantage their oppressors and provide fodder to their critics.

On the contrary, those with power and position, when they choose to abuse their power, are careful to always ‘kick down;’ they don’t throw their weight around against others who have the means to retaliate against them.  Those without power, those under the lash and burdened by a thousand unseen forces that dim their aspirations and restrict their freedom, often lack the means to retaliate against their oppressors.  The hurt and the powerlessness bubbles up into uncontrollable feelings that seek a way out.

Have you ever been so angry and frustrated, so unable to alter the situation in which you found yourself that you burst into tears?  And if you did, don’t you remember how the anger was magnified even as the tears flowed?   We despise our angry tears that betray our impotence.  I think that broken windows and burning cars are the communal analog of the angry tears and impotent tantrums of individuals.

We don’t have to justify bad behavior even when it is provoked by bad behavior, but we would be cruel and stupid to fail to recognize that the cycle of violence begins in the actions of the unjust acts of the powerful.

Many people will point to the violence and rioting and denounce the breakdown of law and order, but law and order did not break down with the onset of the riot.  Law and order broke down when those entrusted with the power and authority of the state acted lawlessly.  Please also consider how long the history extends of the powerful abusing the powerless.  In our country this often coalesces around racial lines, but not always.  Power is not always expressed in uniforms or weapons either.  Often it is expressed by zip codes and by belonging to the right social group.

Jesus warned against causing the little ones to stumble.  The little ones are those without status, without a place at the table where decisions are made, without influence in the halls of power.  All of us have experienced powerlessness, but we are not always conscious of our power or our privilege.  We would do well to take inventory of our power and privilege and use it to give voice and agency to the those who are powerless.

Prayer: God of justice, you bore powerlessness and weakness to be one with us and to take our part against the power of evil and injustice.  Grant us courage to join with those who are oppressed and give us wisdom to know how we might best bring about the justice of the kingdom that Jesus proclaimed.  Amen.