When Hate Triumphs Over Love

James Brown

Hey there, friends, it’s James Brown, back with another Shutter the Dark Short. Today we’re talking about a tough one—why do people, sometimes whole groups, celebrate tragedy? You ever scroll through social media and see folks—maybe even folks you sort of know—cheering when something horrible happens to someone from “the other side”? I mean, the assassination of someone like Charlie Kirk, and suddenly there’s this weird party atmosphere, like winning a game. Why does that happen? I gotta confess, before reading up, even I didn’t get the full depth of it.

James Brown

Psychologists talk about things like dehumanization—where, if you decide someone’s not really like you, or is less than human, it's easier to let empathy slide right out the window. And then there’s those echo chambers—y’know, online bubbles where everyone just amps up each other, pushing each other to say wilder and harsher things. People end up thinking celebrating violence is just... normal. There’s also this term—schadenfreude—that’s a fancy way of saying folks sometimes actually feel a little rush of pleasure when someone they see as an enemy gets hurt. It’s ugly, but, well, it’s real. And if you add anger, group pressure, and just seeing someone as “the enemy,” it all gets multiplied.

James Brown

I've scrolled through some of those online threads, and, yeah, you see it—actual joy when someone from the “opposition” suffers. It’s magnified by polarization, it’s like we all forget these are real people, with families, hurts, everything. And, honestly, it’s not like I’m immune from wanting payback when someone hurts me or mine. I remember—my family and I went through some rough things thanks to a particular person. I still remember the raw knot in my stomach, the urge to lash out, even years on. But I—I mean, we—chose not to retaliate. No letter. No social blasting. I wish I could say it was easy. God worked on my heart so I’d stop rehearsing “gotcha” speeches in my head. I'm not saying I always choose right, but sometimes the bigger victory is just not letting the darkness make a home inside you.

James Brown

When we pivot into what faith says about all this...you know, it’s not just saying “don’t hate.” Jesus, He went farther—He said, “love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you” (Matthew 5:44). Man, that’s hard. Most of us just wanna avoid our enemies, not send ‘em a prayer card. Paul piles on in Romans, “Overcome evil with good.” The Bible doesn't let us off the hook when folks come after us. Some of you might remember from previous episodes—we’ve talked about how discernment isn't just about sniffing out lies, but about looking for a better way, a Christlike way.

James Brown

Charlie Kirk, for all the controversy around him, sometimes showed that. When folks went after him—not just online trolls, but real-life hecklers—he didn’t rally his supporters for revenge. He talked about grace and called for reconciliation. Even if you don’t agree with his politics, that response, that willingness to not just shout back but actually double down on grace—that’s rare. That’s, well, kingdom stuff.

James Brown

It reminds me of my own stint as a church bus driver—whew, let me tell you, I saw my share of rowdy kids and more than a few hecklers as we rolled through town. Sometimes folks yelled things out their car windows that I can’t repeat here—not just poking at church but at me, personally. First couple times, my blood boiled. I wanted to say something back—be clever, you know. But God put it on my heart to just wave and tell ‘em, “Hey, praying for you anyway.” Some people just grumbled and drove off, but, now and then, I’d see a look—like a little shock, maybe even a second thought. It’s not that I’m some saint. Half the time I’d pray through gritted teeth. But those moments stuck with me because they line up with how we’re told in Scripture to handle hate. And Kirk mirrored that a few times in public, too.

James Brown

So, what do we do when we come face-to-face with people celebrating violence, or straight-up hating us for our beliefs? It’s tempting to just fight fire with fire, or wall ourselves off. But—and I think a lot of folks miss this—evidence shows there are better ways. You start with empathy-building, supporting mental health—not just for the “bad guys” but for all of us—and opening up community dialogues. There’s real-world stuff out there, like deradicalization programs. They help folks step off the “us versus them” treadmill. And, yeah, story after story of Christians offering forgiveness—like Stephen’s final prayer, or that guy who forgave his family’s killer—that stuff really does something. It gets through when nothing else will.

James Brown

To be honest, my volunteer work in Search and Rescue hammered that lesson home. People in crisis sometimes lash out; they’re scared, angry, maybe hate everyone in a uniform. I’ve had folks curse me, shove me, accuse me of things I’d never do. It’d be easy to give up, just let ‘em stew. But, when I chose to stick around—help, listen, sometimes just be the calm one—a change could happen. Not always, but often enough. Compassion doesn’t guarantee you’ll see fruit, but it does sow seeds. The world wants instant wins—I get it, so do I sometimes—but real change, reconciliation, it shows up slow, sometimes right when you’ve about given up hope.

James Brown

All this sounds nice, but, let’s face it, it’s way easier to nod along in church than it is to actually listen without judging in a heated conversation about violence or division. But that’s where it starts—active listening, like we talked about a while back in our ‘Power of Listening’ episode. Just hear the story before you “fix” anybody. It's not just about being quiet but about hearing the pain underneath the anger.

James Brown

Second, we gotta build reconciliation out in our communities. Community-based projects, simple stuff even—events that bring together folks from both sides of an issue, or teamwork on a problem everyone cares about—that’s where we start digging up those shared values. Sometimes all it takes is reminding people that we’ve all got skin in the game.

James Brown

And, ah, let’s not skip the hard part: supporting mental health and trauma care. Often that anger and hate, even violence, is pain crying out in unhealthy ways. We, as a body, are called to tend to the wounded, not just the “worthy.” If we just focus on symptoms, we’ll never get to real healing.

James Brown

Alright, I’m gonna wrap it here for today. Just remember—loving in a world set on dividing itself is hard, but it’s holy work, and God’s got patience with us as we stumble through. I hope you carry a little more light this week. I’ll see you next time on Shutter the Dark Shorts.