Seeing a quote from Marion Barry, where he said, “It’s good to have a good God, a good lawyer and a good judge,” reminded me again how complex human beings can be.  The quote was in response to a favorable court ruling regarding tax troubles of the former mayor of Washington, DC.

Another quote, which I won’t repeat here, will forever be linked to Barry.  It was uttered when he secretly was videotaped in a hotel room with a woman not his wife, indulging in drug abuse.  That sealed his fate as fodder for outraged commentators and late night television comedians.  It was a sad period for Barry and the residents of the nation’s capital.

I remember Marion Barry from his college days in Tennessee and his involvement in the civil rights movement.  I watched his political ascent as a city council member and as mayor.  It was disheartening to many, many people when his personal demons became public knowledge.  I don’t know how many times he was re-elected mayor of D.C., even despite his legal and moral struggles.  The City Paper, a local Washington publication, sarcastically dubbed Barry “Mayor for Life,” and that is how they referred to him in articles.

On the other hand, though, at least part of Marion Barry’s ability to survive politically despite his difficulties and misdeeds was that he took care of the people.  The people on the street knew that Mayor Barry cared for them, as expressed in various programs he initiated to meet their needs.   I once had a fairly close encounter with this aspect of this complex human being.

During one of Barry’s terms as mayor, I appealed to him for his help, and he came through.  I was the Executive Director of William Penn House, a Quaker seminar center located on Capitol Hill.  From my second day on the job, the organization was embroiled in a complicated city zoning matter.  After many meetings and conversations with inspectors, lawyers, architects, city zoning people and who knows who else, the whole process ground to a halt. 

Two of the offices involved in zoning issues could not agree with each other about the zoning classification and code requirements for William Penn House.  I saw the guidebook of all the city’s zoning classifications, and it must have been four or five inches thick. William Penn House didn’t fit any of them.  Meanwhile, I was watching our program and bank account slip away, since we were closed down by the city.

Finally, I wrote a letter to Marion Barry, explaining the situation, and asking for his assistance in motivating his people to come up with a solution.   Within just a few days of my sending the letter, action resumed on our case.  Lo, and behold, the disagreeing parties resolved their differences.  Mayor Barry took care of the people, and in this case, we were part of “the people.”  Eventually, we were back in business.

We often dismiss, denigrate, judge, ridicule or condemn others based on aspects of their behavior or personality.  Just as often, there is another side to them we overlook or fail to acknowledge.

It really gets complicated sometimes, but the love and example of Christ caution us not to oversimplify.