Trump and legitimizing behavior

November 15, 2016

To the editor:

I’m grateful, as always, for Mark Wingfield’s insights, this time in his “Don’t blame Trump for your hatred” opinion piece. But I do have a question.

Certainly it’s true that Trump didn’t create the vitriol that’s rising to the surface since Tuesday. But I seriously doubt this would have publicly emerged if he had lost the election.

It seems to me that Trump’s victory has mobilized, provided momentum for, and, worst of all, generated a certain legitimacy for such behavior.

Trump’s selection of Stephen Bannon, a champion of white nationalism, as his senior adviser seems to suggest we’re in for a lot more of the same.

Maybe, though, in the long run, it’s at least clearer now what we’re up against.

Ken Sehested, via email

Embracing the power of story

We share a new series in BNG’s Storytelling Projects about the Norfolk Street Choir as part of our "Singing Our Faith" theme.

While Norfolk, VA is a performance rich city, Freemason Baptist Church’s idea for a street choir was never about performance. Rather, it was “to lift spirits and add dignity to human beings, no matter their circumstances.”

Norfolk Street Choir infuses dignity with a dose of music

Communal singing draws forth “beauty beyond ourselves that we get to see, get to participate in,” Bob Shoup, minister of music, said. Special groups like the street choir amplify that beauty among people for whom “experiences of beauty are harder to come by.”

We created Storytelling Projects because we believe stories, rooted in the Jesus Story, have the power not only to inform but to transform people and communities. They can be sources of spiritual insight, imagination, creativity and hope for all who seek justice and mercy.