Suffering and Injustice: Interview with Sasha
Lauri: We’ve had many discussions over the years about suffering and injustice. You have had to deal with much of both. I actually don’t know many who are able to speak better on the subject than you. So, thank you for being willing to do so.
Sasha: I am always happy if anything in my story can help someone else. It means God is taking what was meant for evil, in many cases, and is using it for good.
Lauri: It’s that perspective that is to helpful to people. So what are your general thoughts regarding suffering and injustice?
Sasha: Basically, the world is sinful. People are going to do things that are hurtful. Look what happened to Jesus. He never did anything wrong and people killed him. So, I think we need to understand we will suffer in this life. And I think the best way to think about it is to expect that sometimes bad things will happen. But God can be trusted to help us through and use it for good.
Lauri: We have talked many times of instances in your life where you had to face hard things. But I’d like to focus on one of them so you can talk through how you look at a particular episode of injustice. It has to do with your first job. Do you know what I am talking about?
Sasha: I definitely do. I was a hostess in a restaurant and really enjoyed the job. After I had been at the job for about six months, I discovered one of the waitresses at the restaurant who knew I was HIV positive had gone home and told her husband. Her husband had gotten really upset and called the owner of the restaurant and demanded that I should be fired because he said I was putting everyone else at risk. He claimed he had worked in food service so he knew he was right in what he was saying about HIV, and he claimed his wife was in danger because of me. The restaurant owner is a very kind person and I consider her to be a friend. She was very aware of my circumstances already and was also very careful about the running of her business. She did the right thing and contacted the local Health Department with the complaint and they verified that my HIV status was not a health concern for working at the restaurant and that I should be treated as every other employees even if I had an injury. I did not require special status. She got all the correct documentation to present to this employee and her husband.
Lauri: I recall that she called your dad and me and told us about the circumstance and that she was going to tell you what was going on when you finished your shift that day. We were very upset for you and were waiting for the call that we knew would be coming from you. Sure enough, you called crying and we talked through everything.
Sasha: Yes. It was, of course, very hurtful. I knew the man was wrong and I was thankful the restaurant owner was not reactionary and treated me very respectfully. But it still hurt. And that wasn’t the end of it, unfortunately. When the man and his wife were presented with the information he refused to accept it and demanded they put a sign up in the restaurant saying they had an employee who was HIV positive. This showed he was just making up stuff he wanted done and he had no legal or health reason behind what he did. The woman I worked with kept telling me at work how upset her husband was. It was a difficult situation for awhile.
Lauri: It was. I remember wondering if we were going to need to file a harassment complaint about the couple, but then it let up and shortly thereafter you weren’t able to keep working there anyway because of other responsibilities.
Sasha: And that wasn’t the end of the story. Several years later I saw my former co-worker and barely recognized her. She apologized to me for what had happened; told me she was divorced from her husband; and it was clear she had lots of other issues going on in her life. I was able to forgive her and tell her I was sorry about her difficult life circumstances.
Lauri: So let’s have you walk though your thoughts on how you see it all now. And also how you evaluate other tough circumstances with which you’ve had to cope.
Sasha: I do know that people like that can come at me sometimes intending to do me harm. And things are done in ignorance too, regarding HIV. They don’t know they are the risk to me and my immune system, not the other way around. But some things can cut pretty deep. In the circumstance regarding my job, I didn’t understand what they had against me. Maybe they saw joy in my life and hated it? People who want to be mean always have a background to their story. Lots of times people are unhappy. But the Lord handled it and I felt bad for the brokenness in that person’s life. I didn’t have to do a thing actually. The Lord handled that person. I’ve also learned to try and not focus on that stuff. They’re not important people in my life, so I shouldn’t give them power over me. Sometimes you just have to let it be and enjoy life. I ask God to help me show the fruit of the Spirit to them. It might help their perspective change.
Lauri: So how would you sum it all up?
Sasha: First thing is to know we’re all fallen and all can do stuff that’s wrong and can hurt others. Life is not fair. But thankfully, we have the Lord. That’s what matters.
