I write this letter as a straight woman, as an ally and as a Christian. During Coming Out Week this year I, like the writers of last week’s letter to the editor, was often reminded of the anniversary of the Bible reference rock painting. I remember this event with a mixture of despondency toward what I considered to be a hateful act indeed and reverence for the community’s powerful response to it.

I will never forget the dripping red letters against their black backdrop, spelling out condemnation and cruel intolerance, monopolizing the podium, rejecting discourse.

However, I also cherish the memory of joining students and faculty in painting the rock over again with fresh and beautiful colors, fortified by the love and support of its new artists. We understood that one cannot stand up for what one believes in behind a cloak of anonymity, and so we stood up with clear intent and lent our faces, voices and names to the perpetuation of our cause.

Even now, as I examine the Christian community at Gustavus, I am disappointed and saddened. I believe that the message of Jesus Christ throughout the Gospel is one of love. What are Christians doing to spread this message? When did black darkness replace the white light of God, and red blood replace the sweet green of life? In the face of this ugly hate crime (and I do believe it was a hate crime), what else could one expect but scorn from the wounded? Painter, when you took that verse out of its context (Biblical and historical) and ignored my dissenting voice, when you bound my God to that rock, did you know you were binding me there, too?

I refuse to be bound. For me, there will never be a place for intolerance at Gustavus.

Julia Tindell

English, ‘13