Murdered MP Jo’s family show that decency will always triumph over evil
If ever a family showed real dignity and courage it’s the husband, parents and sister of Jo Cox.
The MP was brutally murdered by Thomas Mair in her West Yorkshire constituency a week before the EU referendum. And Brendan Cox, Jo’s husband and father of their two young children, said he had “nothing but pity” for his wife’s killer.
Throughout the trial, Jo’s family attended court and heard the harrowing evidence of the way Mair accosted defenceless Jo in the street, shot her, stabbed her 15 times and left her dying.
Yet even in the moment of her death, Jo was thinking of others, urging her assistants to flee to safety.
If ever something epitomised the difference between good and evil it’s the story of this young woman and how she lived her life.
Jo Cox worked for the good of others. She gave herself wholeheartedly to the needs of her constituents. She was always there for them, whether it was their concerns about housing, education, health provision, or whatever. She listened. She tried to get things done.
She believed in parliamentary democracy and she brought that to the local level and the concerns of the people she represented.
Watching her husband and family make the agonising journey to court this week, it’s clear to see her upbringing reflected those humane, compassionate values which made Jo who she was.
They are clearly that oldfashioned word – decent. People who look out for others, who are compassionate and kind.
Growing up in Yorkshire, Jo’s home life was solidly workingclass. Values of honesty, kindness and doing your best were part of the fabric of her early years.
Jo got a job with Oxfam, where she met Brendan. They had two children, she fulfilled her dream of becoming an MP and enjoyed being a mum.
All that ended in one brutal encounter with Thomas Mair.
But the wisdom in the words of her husband Brendan is stronger than the crazed ramblings of her murderer.
“Jo’s life was about love,” he said. “She had so much of it to give.”
What a lesson there is for all of us in this bereaved young father’s simple statement.
Whenever we feel hard done-by, overlooked or treated badly by someone, whenever we feel cheated, let down or anxious – let’s try and replace negativity with positive emotions.
Let’s remember love and goodness are stronger than hate.
Let’s understand the way we live out our lives matters. Our small, ordinary actions are the building blocks of who we are and how we will be remembered.
Even in this crazy, confused world, decency still has solid value.
Jo Cox left a legacy of love which Mair’s brutality could not destroy.
And love is always stronger than hate.