Dear Hopkinsville

Dear Hopkinsville,

The week of October 12, our city was presented with an opportunity.  It was a chance to rally behind a young victim who was brutally attacked while unconscious at a house party.  In the aftermath, this town came together and raised support and money for the young victim to help with his medical expenses.  We prayed for him and his family and worked to make sense of it and to bring comfort to the family.  It was a moment to be proud of our town as dollar for dollar, we attempted to take the sting out of the horrible wrong that was done; not to erase it, but to announce that we were not going to stand by and allow this kind of thing to define us!  “We care about our kids,” we declared, “When they hurt, we hurt.”

In all of our rallying to support the victim--and rightly so, we hollered a battle cry against the rest of the young people involved in the incident—arguably still just kids themselves. From the same mouths that rallied to support the victim, spewed verbal vitriol that demanded the perpetrators pay. Not only did we want them to pay, but in the worst possible way.  I watched my newsfeed as graphics of gallows and snickered comments about what happens to “guys like that in jail” assaulted my eyes and all I could think was that if the first victim didn’t deserve it, then how can we justify the same treatment for the suspects?  There is no comfort for anyone from the victim to his family to the suspects to their families who believes similar treatment will in any way make things right, and yet few people have stepped up to say that this is just plain wrong.  So let me be the first to point it out; this is wrong! Fully supporting the victim and his loved ones while supporting the suspects and their loved ones are NOT mutually exclusive and we need to quit perpetuating the lie that we can't do both!

It’s nothing unusual, though.  This kind of reaction is typical and exactly what is to be expected, but that is the point of this letter. We rose to the challenge to help one child in need; but are perfectly willing to throw four [at present count] “children” away to rot in prison in order to pay for their crime.  It’s totally to be expected; this kind of reaction.  I’m not picking on you, Hopkinsville, because it happens in every town following this kind of shocking event.  But this is why I’m writing you.  I wanted you to consider another opportunity.

What if we rallied behind all the people involved in this incident?  What if we quit the usual diatribe and libelous remarks against young people like the suspects in our community?  What if we declared that we weren’t okay with the likely treatment they may receive in prison?  What if we promised that we would be there for them while they pay their debt to society and prepare to receive them again when the time comes?  What if we supported them as they prepare to face the music; a burden that is likely too heavy for any of them to carry alone? Any one of our kids could have found themselves in the same situation.  I'd like to think that mine would know and behave better--but I just can't look you in the eye and promise you that!

Who could blame you for saying no?  I wouldn’t.  It would make you no different than any other community that’s been faced with a similar shock.  But that’s the other thing about which I’m writing this letter.  What would it cost us to rally behind ALL of our young people?  Not just the good ones who always follow the rules, but the lost ones too?  It might cost us our pride because nobody wants to go to bat for anyone who doesn’t deserve it.  We want to look intelligent and at least a little careful—not foolish and naïve.  It might cost us our opportunity to see the bad guy get what’s coming to him.  It’s the ending to every good movie we’ve ever seen—the bad guy always gets his comeuppance.  We might experience a huge loss of satisfaction if we don’t get to take part in the fullness of the derelicts' deserved penalty.  It might cost us some friends, because let’s face it, only a fraction of people are capable of reconciling the awful thing that was done and showing compassion upon those who caused it to happen.  You’d be outnumbered if you chose love over “the usual.”  It’s a concept that works much better in theory than in practice. 

But what would it look like to be known as the town that chose love over libel? The town that chose redemption over retribution?  The town that determined not to throw away any of its children? The town that said, “Justice must be served and we accept that, but while justice is having her way, WE will rally together on behalf of all those involved and provide the support necessary to ensure the rehabilitative portion of the penalty.”

This calling is not for the cowardly: those who prefer to stay silent when words need to be said or action needs to be taken, can’t help but declare loudly their opinions before knowing the facts, or spew hatred from behind the safety of a computer screen things they’d never be brave enough to say in public.  Only those who understand the nature of redemption and how it applies in this situation can fully get behind an audacious move as this one. Is there anyone in this town who has experienced redemption?  

As a community, only a handful of people are cognizant of the events that took place on October 12 and they are not at liberty to divulge until called upon to do so in court.  So let’s make a new commitment. Let’s allow the suspects the most fundamental tenet of the law—the one that states that they are in fact innocent until proven guilty (regardless of what you heard was distributed on social media).  Let’s speak up when outsiders, or insiders, speak hatefully about these young people and the things they hope or think should happen to them and at least get the message across that Hopkinsville citizens are not okay with the violence—any of it.  Let’s try something different and new and unique and come together to support the victim, his family and friends, the suspects and their families and to educate each other to prevent anything like this happening again. 

#WeCareAboutOurKids

#RedemptionIsGreaterThanRetribution

#SolidarityInHoptown

#RiseAboveItHoptown

Am I alone here?

Sincerely,

C. Arnold