White Right Meeting the Enemy

White Right Meeting the Enemy is a documentary about a Muslim journalist, from the UK who is confronted with vicious hate by White Nationalists after an interview she participate in discussing multiculturalism. The anonymous (of course) attacks were vile included terms like "Sand Ni#$%$ and Shit Skin. There were also personal death threats against the journalist. Online examples of the darkest parts of our humanity set the tone for what it feels to be attacked for your beliefs or the color of you skin. Many watching the documentary surely felt the ugliness of the attacks, however what makes this documentary unique is the approach the journalist takes to confront the enemy.

Deeyah Kahn (the journalist)  takes a dramatic step towards decency by trying to find the humanity behind the hate she experienced. She comes to the United States and immerses herself into the White Nationalist movement. Truthfully, you can not get more authentic experiences than what she went through. The timing of her arrival in the United States was uncanny. (She was filming during the horrible events in Virginia.)Vicious at first, and then the humanity slowly beings to arrive once interactions among enemies occurs. It was quite telling, and in my opinion the best example how we should confront hate. Isolation from these groups solidifies the hate, while interaction brings about change in personal values and insight. There is a transformation happening as she gets to know the leaders of the movements.

Why is this documentary so important?  Too often ,we choose rallies over personal contact. Dissent is often resolved on social media versus personal contact. Most people who hate have been victims of trauma. The hate comes from a space that all us have shared at one point in our life. It is difficult for humans to see the humanity in our actions, when actions are aggressive towards another human being. However, we have a responsibility to confront hate with compassion and understanding, as crazy as this statement must sound. Hate is often attributed to environment, and the best way to change the narrative is to introduce people to new environments. A very very powerful point that this documentary makes is we all have a responsibility to see the humanity in our actions, while judging the actions of others.

The Keepers

The Keepers is a documentary series on Netflix is important on many fronts. The series is a about the murder of Sister Cathy, a Roman Catholic nun who was a teacher in Baltimore Maryland. We are introduced to former students of Sister Cathy that clearly know there was a cover up of her death by the church and local political entities including law enforcement. How do they know? They were victims of abuse by the same person the possibly killed Sister Cathy.

What makes this documentary important is the detail of cover ups by the church and local officials. It is truly disturbing the great lengths the Roman Catholic church will go to to protect one of their own priests. The collaboration by local law enforcement demonstrates what lengths the cover ups can involve high ranking people in our community. The documentary also shows how clever the perpetrator of abuse uses a technique of building relationships in the community to protect them from being help accountable.

For the last 25-30 years, we have learned about the Roman Catholic cover ups. Globally as well as nationally, we have heard countless examples of abuse and cover ups. What this documentary explains is how it happens. Additionally, we learn the great lengths how a community can be powerless to stop abuse. The victims, go through a process of injustice and shame while the deviant personality creates a wall that can be impenetrable.

The documentary is important and provides a contrast to our nation's fascination with the current leader of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis. Our mainstream media has a love affair with this Pope which is based on his words, not actions. This is why people need to watch The Keepers. To understand that there are hundreds of thousands of victims that continue to be denied justice by the current Pope. The Pope's words are nothing but empty promises.

Until the Catholic Church takes responsibility for the actions of their clergy, we will continue to see cover ups and abuse. One of my favorite lines in the movie was from a former student who is in her late 60s. She said, 'I hope I can see the day that the person who murdered Sister Cathy is brought to justice." My heart ached, as she was an abuse survivor, She wanted justice for Sister Cathy, not herself. Even though. the person abused her and murdered Sister Cathy are the same person.. How powerful is her statement. Such a powerful testament to help us understand how trauma can last a lifetime if left unresolved, yet through hope the victims of trauma seek justice. Truly powerful.