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There are at least two ways of accounting for Antoinette Tuff's heroic talking-down of a disturbed gunman who invaded the elementary school just outside Atlanta where she worked in the front office. One has to do with training and intuition; the other has to do with putting one's faith into practice. The whole explanation is likely in some mix of the two.
Remaining outwardly calm, Tuff engaged Michael Brandon Hill, who was armed with an AK-47 type weapon and 500 rounds of ammunition, in conversation. Her words to Hill can be overheard on a 911 call in which Tuff acted as an intermediary between Hill and the police. She spoke to Hill of her own struggles with life, addressed him with affectionate names ("sweetie," "baby") and told him she loved him. When she sensed he was ready to surrender, she told him she was proud of him and got him to lie down on the floor before police entered the building.
At one point, when Hill was heading outside to start shooting at the kids, Tuff called him back to her and kept talking.
"It's going to be all right, sweetie," Tuff told Hill. "I just want you to know I love you, though, OK? And I'm proud of you. That's a good thing that you're just giving up, and don't worry about it. We all go through something in life."
Tuff also told Hill that she'd had troubles herself, but because she'd picked herself up, he could, too. "I thought the same thing, you know," she said. "I tried to commit suicide last year after my husband left me. But look at me now. I'm still working and everything is OK."
Although Hill discharged his gun in the office and fired at police at one point, the standoff ended with no one -- not one of the 870 students, not one staff member, not one police officer and not Hill -- being shot.
While Tuff's demeanor toward Hill was unruffled and composed -- exactly right for the situation, according to experts -- inside she was terrified, as became clear once Hill was in custody. "I've never been so scared in all the days of my life," Tuff said to the 911 dispatcher. "Woo, Jesus ... Oh, God," she added.
Sometime before that day, Tuff and two other staff members from the school had received some training in handling hostile situations, but her actions when Hill stood before her with his gun seem to have gone beyond her training.
"She did all the things we try to teach negotiators," said Clint van Zandt, former FBI profiler and hostage negotiator, commenting on her actions. "She was a great 'go-between': She identified with the aggressor, she offered help, she minimized what he had done, she helped develop a surrender ritual, she told him what to expect, and told the police what to expect, she offered love, said she was proud of him, she offered him a positive future -- every one of those things is something we spend weeks teaching negotiators, and this lady did it intuitively."
In fact, Tuff's demeanor and words were so effective that there is now talk of using her behavior as an example for teaching others who work with children the value of compassion and empathy when facing someone who wants to harm the kids.
James Wellman, chair of the comparative religions program at the University of Washington, doesn't disagree, but he's not convinced Tuff's handling of the dangerous situation was simply "intuitive" behavior.
Writing on the Patheos website, Wellman said, "This was learned behavior, based, by her own witness, on the teachings of her pastor on how to 'anchor on the Lord in tough times,' and how to 'consult people in their pain.'"
"The 911 call is a textbook dialogue in hostage management and pastoral care," Wellman said. "But it didn't come out of a book but from the depths of this woman's personal experience and a rich and deep faith, a Christian faith."
Wellman continued, "The psychologist put her ability to care for Michael in instrumental language: Antoinette had the right 'strategy' and 'negotiating style.' But what's critical here is that it wasn't instrumental. She wasn't using a strategy at all. She, in fact, was loving this man back into being; treating him not as an object to be manipulated, but as a soul to be healed and saved."
"Why did Michael listen to her?" Wellman asked. "One can imagine that he has heard every single type of psychological language used on him to deal with his mental illness. He knew the script by heart. But with Antoinette this again was no script, it was the language of love in action. Antoinette recalled the pain of her own life -- her severely disabled son, her recent divorce, her despair and attempted suicide. She too had seen the dark side of life. And yet, in the midst of it her pastor had taught her to 'anchor' in the Lord."
In an interview with ABC News, Tuff said of Hill, "He was a hurting young man; I started praying for him. I shared my life story, my struggles, and let him know that he could give himself up." And when asked how she did it, she explained, "I give it all to God. I'm not the hero. I was terrified."
There is, of course, no guarantee of success when using these techniques. Compassion doesn't always succeed. Here, the intended murderer stopped and listened. In another case, he might have killed her and kept going. Perhaps what makes this story so intriguing is its rarity. Sometimes negotiators succeed; sometimes they fail; sometimes the opportunity doesn't even arise. Yet we can be thankful that, in this case, God used Antoinette Tuff to preserve the lives of many children.
More on this story can be found at these links:
Antoinette Tuff Hailed as 'True Hero' for Handling Georgia School Gunman. CNN
Antoinette's Babies: Radical Empathy, Radical Grace. Patheos
School Clerk Helps Suspect Put His Weapons Down and Surrender. ABC News (video of interview with Tuff)
Can Courage Like Antoinette Tuff's Be Taught? Washington Post
Emotional Intelligence and Antoinette Tuff's Heroism. Denver Post
The Big Questions
1. Do you think Tuff acted on instinct or out of her faith or both? Explain your answer.
2. Can the kind of response Hill got from Tuff actually be taught? What did it take for you to learn to love your neighbor as yourself? Instead of armed police responding to an incipient mass killing, should unarmed negotiators be sent in instead? Why or why not?
3. In dangerous circumstances, is pretend compassion just as good as real compassion? Why or why not?
4. What does it mean to "anchor on the Lord in tough times"?
5. When has someone's compassion or empathy kept you from making a bad decision?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 21:17
And God heard the voice of the boy; and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven, and said to her, "What troubles you, Hagar? Do not be afraid; for God has heard the voice of the boy where he is." (For context, read 21:8-21.)
Because of family rivalry, Hagar and her son Ishmael had been turned out from Abraham's encampment. The mother and son were soon out of water and alone in the wilderness, and Ishmael was near death. At that point, God intervened, saving them. An angel told Hagar that God had "heard the voice of the boy where he is."
The word "empathy" does not appear in the Bible, but the ability to "hear" someone "where he/she is" is a good definition of empathy, especially since in Scripture, "hearing" often implies having compassion for someone because of their circumstances.
The verse above suggests that empathy is a Godly reaction to someone.
The Bible does use the words "compassion" and "pity," both of which imply empathy.
Questions: When have you been aware of empathy as a force motivating you to do some good thing? What does it mean to have empathy for someone? Is it possible to be involved in caring or service ministries without some measure of empathy? Is a sense of duty enough? Can there be too much empathy?
Matthew 10:19-20
When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say; for what you are to say will be given to you at that time; for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. (For context, read 10:16-23.)
This is an instruction Jesus gave to his disciples about persecutions they would eventually face. He says that when they are in these hostile circumstances, they can rely on the Holy Spirit to give them the words to speak. In fact, in those situations, the Spirit would actually speak through them.
Questions: Do you think the Spirit was speaking to Hill through Tuff? Why or why not? What might it mean that Christians' words are not able to avert violence in every situation? What is your level of trust about counting on God's help when you have no warning for what you need to do in God's name?
Romans 8:28
We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose. (No context necessary.)
This often-quoted verse testifies to God's sovereignty over all things. It does not say that God wills bad things to happen, but that God works in all things for the good of those who love God and are called to God's purposes.
Questions: Among the "all things" in Tuff's life are her divorce and her suicide attempt. In talking to the gunman, these things became part of her general "troubles" through which she was able to identify with him and he was able to identify with her. Does that seem like "all things work[ing] together for good"? Why or why not?
There is often talk about Christians being "wounded healers." To the extent that you feel comfortable discussing it, what weakness do you have that provides strength when you are working with others? Are there weaknesses that seem to hinder you in ministering in Christ's name?
Romans 12:9
Let love be genuine; hate what is evil, hold fast to what is good ... (For context, read 12:9-21.)
Under the circumstances of the gunman invading an elementary school, we might be tempted to say that Tuff's telling him that she loved him was just words to try to head off a tragedy. But in the context, Tuff's expressions of love, along with the general tenor of her comments, seem to have had a nurturing and healing quality about them.
Questions: Tuff told Hill that she loved him. Do you think she meant it? Does it matter? Why or why not? Does it make a difference how we define "love": as a "warm, fuzzy" feeling, or an unconditional act of giving/serving (as "love" used in Scripture is often best translated), or in some other way? For you, what have been the hardest circumstances in which to extend the love of God toward another? When do you think it has been hard for people to love you?
1 Thessalonians 5:17
... pray without ceasing ... (For context, read 5:12-22.)
This three-word instruction is part of a longer string of advice the apostle Paul wrote to the Christians at Thessalonica about how to live faithfully as Christ's followers.
Paul couldn't have meant that they should spend every minute kneeling in prayer. More likely he meant that prayer should be an ongoing part of who they were as followers of Jesus. They should cultivate the habit of offering the things of life to God in prayer even as they were going about their daily routine.
We suspect that it was this prayer habit that led Tuff to start praying for Hill rather than for herself when confronted by him, and we further suspect it had a bearing on the outcome that day.
Questions: Can you pray while interacting with others? What constitutes ceaseless prayer? Is breathing part of it? Living authentically? How do you focus on a prayer when there are so many distractions? In what ways do you practice prayer without ceasing?
For Further Discussion
1. Respond to his, from James Wellman: "One can imagine that [Hill] has heard every single type of psychological language used on him to deal with his mental illness. He knew the script by heart. But with Antoinette this again was no script, it was the language of love in action. Antoinette recalled the pain of her own life -- her severely disabled son, her recent divorce, her despair and attempted suicide. She too had seen the dark side of life. And yet, in the midst of it her pastor had taught her to 'anchor' in the Lord."
2. Bring in your laptop or tablet and play Tuff's interview for the class: School Clerk Helps Suspect Put His Weapons Down and Surrender. ABC News. Then invite class members to discuss what they heard.
3. One of the experts lauded Tuff for speaking without a script. When have you had to speak well and seriously without any warning? Did you feel up to the task at hand?
4. If you work at a school or an organization that does business with the public, has your group had training for the possibility of a serious crisis? Should it?
5. What is the difference between quoting a Scripture verse and living it? How do you present the Bible message without alarming someone in a difficult situation?
Responding to the News
When Tuff told the gunman "We all go through something in life," she was speaking the truth. Sooner or later, all of us go through troubles, and it's worth remembering that the Christian faith includes many resources to help us as we face those things. This is a good time to consider how we can bring faith-based hope and help to our fellow worshipers and others when they are in the dark places of life.
This is also a good time to remind ourselves that praying "without ceasing" is a faith-filled way to confront all the things life brings to us.
Closing Prayer
Thank you, O Lord, for empowering Antoinette Tuff to save lives through her empathy with a troubled man. Empower us in our faith too, that should we face danger, our trust in you will enable us to be the person you want us to be in that situation. In Jesus' name. Amen.
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