What is the opposite of Love? I don't believe it's hate. Hate is passion. Hate is obsession with the object of hate. Hate is thinking about the object of hate.
The opposite of love is indifference. Indifference is the lack of passion, obsession and thought. Indifference can cause severe destruction. Recently, indifference severely impacted my life.
I live at 41 Arlington St., in Fitchburg. Recently, the property was foreclosed upon and bought by the bank at auction. Last March the bank auctioned and bought the property itself.
At the time I had three roommates including Stevie Germano. Stevie was severally disabled and on S.S.I. Because of the extreme pressure of the foreclosure and eviction, Stevie suffered a break down. Shortly after that Stevie was seriously injured in a fall down the back stairs where the bank had shut off the lights and left the hall dark. Stevie injured his head where he'd already had a metal plate. He injured his spine and broke his arm. He was unconscious and in intensive care at a hospital in Worcester for several weeks and then in a regular hospital for several more weeks. On October 13, 2010 at about 6 p.m., Stevie died from the injuries sustained in his fall down the unlighted hallway.
During this entire process I kept the offices of the Governor, the Attorney General, our loca Senator, our local Representative, the Mayor and the Fitchburg Health Department informed about these events. The Mayor and the Senator spoke with the Health Department to no avail. None of the other public representatives responded.
Out of shear desperation I wrote to the Governor and reminded him that he was running for re-election in six weeks, and then I got a call from his office. The public relations representative told me about a recent law signed by the Governor protecting landlords in foreclosures. This law does little to help tenants.
During the foreclosure, eviction, the violation of human rights, and the law, the attitude of the bank was, "This is how we do things." Agents for the bank come and go and don't communicate with us.
If we think of church as a place we go to for only one hour on Sunday, the parish will die. Every week, we say love is the doctrine of this church. Does that mean we commit to dismantling indifference?
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This testimonial was written by Fred Hutchings, a member of First Parish, Fitchburg.
