A racist attack

It was hard for me to watch the news Sunday morning without crying. There I was, enjoying my weekend as always, about to head out cycling, when I saw the pictures of Anthony Walker, aged 18, murdered by an axe which was embedded in his forehead. "A racist attack..." they say. And now, reading the details in The Independent, the shock is huge. He was a wonderful young man, already giving more to his community than many other people much older. It seems the area suffers from endemic racism. Apparently the May 2004 elections highlighted feelings when a non-White candidate received hate mail.

How do we deal with such hatred? I find myself also drawn towards hate, wanting whoever is guilty to be locked up for the rest of their life, and perhaps even wanting them to be physically attacked. This is not how I want to feel, but it is a struggle to not want to retaliate. If I feel so strongly, how can his family and friends feel? I gather he was a devoted Christian, so perhaps he would try to persuade me to feel forgiveness. I am very confused as to how to react. I just know it was a wicked waste - his smile lit up the TV screen.