With the speed of news events today, including the drama unfolding in Iran, let’s not forget the heroism of Holocaust Museum guard Stephen Johns. Johns was killed at work last Wednesday by the hate-filled white supremacist James von Brunn.
Built like an NFL linebacker, Johns was described by one of his coworkers as “a big guy with a big heart.” Many of John’s coworkers referred to him as a “gentle giant.” Johns, a 39-year old African-American, stood six feet six inches tall. They said he always had a ready smile.
John’s kindness was evident in the simple human courtesy he extended to von Brunn when Johns held open the museum door for his 88-year old killer. That moment of kindness and vulnerability answered with hate and murder distills this event for me to its essential character. That is what I will never forget. He opened the door for his killer.
How are we as a society to deal with the senseless hate of an extreme minority that now seems ascendant? New York Times columnist Bob Herbert touched on this in his June 12 piece:
The social fabric is extremely delicate and fragile. Forces bent on destruction, even if they are a tiny portion of the population, can tear it to pieces. With a black president, an extreme economic crisis and the fear generated by the continuing threat of international terrorism, the United States is exceptionally vulnerable to these virulently destructive forces.
We need to be vigilant. When I first heard about the murder of Mr. Johns and the violent desecration of the Holocaust museum, I thought of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and how much we miss his moral leadership. He fought not just for civil rights, but against violence and injustice of all kinds, and he warned us of the debilitating effects of unnecessary warfare.
“He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps to perpetrate it,” said Dr. King.
As today’s news events rapidly turn over let’s not forget the Stephen Johns’ family. Johns left behind a wife, mother and an 11-year old son, Stephen, Jr. I am most moved by the fact that Stephen Jr. will sorely miss the guidance and love of his father as he matures into a young man. The Washington Post lists three agencies that are collecting donations for the Johns’ family.
Three funds have been created for the family of Stephen T. Johns, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum guard shot and killed Wednesday.
-- Checks payable to USHMM Officer Johns Family Fund may be mailed to USHMM, 100 Raoul Wallenberg Pl. SW, Washington D.C. 20024. Contributions can also be made by calling 877-91USHMM (877-918-7466) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. or going to the museum's Web site.
-- Wackenhut, Johns's employer, asks that contributions be made by check or money order payable to Zakia Christina Johns in care of WSI Wachovia, 4440 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. 33410.
-- Checks payable to the American Jewish Committee, with "Holocaust Museum Memorial Fund" on the memo line, should be mailed to: American Jewish Committee Washington Chapter in care of Melanie Maron Pell, 1156 15th St. NW, Suite 1201, Washington D.C. 20005. Donations will also be accepted at the AJC Web site.
I encourage all Daily Kos readers to give what they can to the Johns family to ease at least some of the pain and sorrow they must feel. I called the toll free number for the Holocaust Museum and made a donation using a credit card. We must not "passively accept" this evil!