A thought-provoking disruption at play

Intermission had just started at the Guthrie Theatre’s production of “To Kill a Mockingbird.” I sat still in my seat, still trying to absorb the impact of this play, which was adapted from one of my favorite books.
Suddenly, an increasingly angry voice came out over the audience, decrying the use of the word “nigger” in the play. I didn’t catch the first part of the outcry, but I got the gist that the person found the word offensive to black people, and loudly stated that “it should be taken out of this play immediately.”
I find the word offensive, also, and was rather jolted by its use in the play. However, that word was commonly used in the deep south in 1935, which is the setting for the book and the play.
My first reaction was that the complainer was missing the whole point of the play, which is decidedly anti-racist. In fact, at one point Atticus Finch, an attorney representing a black man falsely accused of raping a white woman, chides his children for using the word “nigger.”
But the more I thought about the play and, in particular the book, I realized that “To Kill a Mockingbird” wasn’t simply about how black people were mistreated, but about how we mistreat so many others that are different than us.
Along with black people, the play includes a cantankerous old woman addicted to morphine, ignorant people, poor people and a recluse who had not come out of his home for at least 15 years, pointing to a probable mental health issue.
Finch tries to teach his children to treat all of these with compassion.
Really, the book is about Jesus’ new commandment — “Love thy neighbor as thyself.” Even those who are not Christian cannot argue with the inherent goodness of that commandment.
Sometimes I wonder if people who disrupt plays or block marathons or demonstrate at malls are doing more harm to their cause than good. My experience at a disruption at the Guthrie provoked me into thinking a little harder about the meaning of “To Kill a Mockingbird.”
But for the most part, I think people could learn more about compassion for others by reading “To Kill a Mockingbird,” or, if you want to learn more about the Civil Rights movement and what lead up to it, Ann Fairbairn’s novel, “Five Smooth Stones.”
Pick either of them up. I’m sure you’ll be glad you did.