L’Observateur / August 17, 1998

Recently, I noticed a young, 9-year-old boy wearing a T-shirt with the message: “Mean People Rule.” I just shook my head and wondered what theworld was coming to. Webster’s Dictionary defines “mean” as: inferior,shabby, small-minded, contemptible, stingy, bad-tempered.

I’m reminded of football coaches telling their players to get mean. Justdoesn’t sound right, does it? I remember an incident last year during a game when a coach, after one of his better defensive players missed an assignment, took him out of the game, grabbed his face mask and yelled, “You better get mean!” I thought, “This coach is wasting his time.” I knew the player who was beingcommanded to get mean and because I knew that player’s character, I also knew it was impossible for him to get mean. Now, if the coach hadsuggested that he get tough and play harder, I know that he would have responded in a positive way.

Getting back to the message on the young boy’s T-shirt – the very same day I heard on the evening news that an 11-year-old girl in Chicago was murdered. The two boys accused of killing the innocent young girl were 7and 8 years of age. They beat her to death because they wanted her bicycle.Evidently, those two young boys believed that mean people rule. Yes, theywould be considered mean because they were small-minded, stingy and bad-tempered.

The same day, Mitchell Johnson and Andrew Golden were convicted of killing four classmates and a teacher last March at Westside Middle School in Arkansas. I’m sure their actiions could be classified as mean.I’ve heard many people say that it’s a cruel, mean world. The world ismade up of people. The world is not cruel and mean – people are.A message on another T-shirt I saw this week had just these big, bold letters: “W.W.J.D.” I asked the lady what that stood for. She smiled andsaid, “What Would Jesus Do?” I know one thing. He wouldn’t suggest that we be mean. His life stood forjust the opposite – love, kindness, peace, joy and meekness. Come to thinkof it, the Bible says that, in the end, mean people will not rule – but the righteous will. Maybe it’s time we start sending godly messages on T-shirts.

By the way, the young boy who had that T-shirt was my grandson. When Iquestioned him about it, he said that his mother bought it. I shook my headagain. His mother is my daughter.

Copyright © 1998, Wick Communications, Inc.

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