Good morning. I’m sorry that so many are hurting right now, and I feel grieved. I know what it feels like to be crushed under a weight of grief that threatens to eat you alive, perhaps more than most. I’ve had so many thoughts running through my head in response to recent events – and because of that, I’ve felt the need to stay silent, pray, listen, and ponder. But now, I need to get some of these thoughts together. What follows is an odd assortment of reflections that have come out of my prayer and contemplation. They’re in no particular order. Some of them may be offensive to those who are unwilling to hear a perspective that differs from their own. As a last disclaimer – I really hate continually referring to people based on their skin color (i.e. African Americans, White Americans, etc.), as I think in many cases it just promotes the escalating sense of division. That said, I really don’t know how else to candidly discuss these matters, given the present situation. Without further ado, here goes.
1) I wanted to start with this, because I think we ALL need to hear it again. And again (myself included). “My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” James 1:19. This doesn’t apply to just white people or just black people. This applies to ALL OF US WHO ARE IN CHRIST.
2) Opinions vary greatly (largely, though not entirely along racial lines) as to the nature and degree of what is being called a systemic problem of racism in our nation. My views on this are very complex, and can’t be expressed in any of the overly simplistic platitudes I feel are so often thrown around by both sides of the camp. But, I do want to say this. Regardless of what ANY of us feel we can prove one way or another with facts, charts, and statistics – there’s something that is in some ways more important than all of that. And that is that our black brothers and sisters feel a great weight, feel undervalued, and feel that the world is against them. Whether this has it’s basis primarily in personal experience, media coverage of current events, history, or a combination of the three, it is reality. In and of itself, that’s indicative of a problem.
3) With that established, I’d like to focus first on the irrefutable problem – which is that people of color feel oppressed. What’s more, they feel that the oppression is solely on account of their skin color. There are elements of this I understand, but there are many facets on which I’m still on a quest for truth and understanding. In honesty, part of what makes this such a challenge is that I don’t feel open dialogue is yet occurring to the degree in which it MUST occur in order for truth to be discovered. This is not meant to be a criticism of anyone. But, I feel like most of what I hear coming from people of color is that they are hurting (something I already know), followed by generalizations and sweeping, unsubstantiated allegations, or by pointing to isolated, widely publicized (and debated) media-covered events. On the other side of the camp, I hear people (most of them white) doing one of two things. Either, a) Making brazen accusations against people of color concerning the way they feel, usually followed closely by the recycling of memes and random statistics meant to disprove the problem, or b) Expressing general sentiments of pity and compassion towards black people that usually go no further. Sorry, I know this comes across sounding a little harsh – but I honestly feel like this is a big problem and a big hindrance to making progress. Maybe there are more substantial and fruitful conversations happening between folks from differing backgrounds and viewpoints, but it’s something I haven’t witnessed yet. We must be willing to be both less defensive, and less easily offended, if we are to have forthright dialogues and begin to better understand the nuances of this issue! And there needs to be more substance to the discourse – things like personal experience, the concrete reasoning behind feelings, civil deliberation of facts, and a long hard look at history and the way that inherited ideologies are affecting our perspectives.
4) I’m not trying to de-emphasize the importance of truth by any means – in fact, further down, I spend time strongly affirming the importance of truthfulness. That said, sometimes in the short term, people’s hurt and pain need to be addressed as the first priority. This has always been a challenge for me due to the way I’m wired. In the natural, my “zeal for truth” has always been more acute than my tendency towards empathy. But God has been reminding me of a scripture a lot recently as things have been unfolding and I’ve witnessed people’s pain and anger. Of Jesus it is said, “a bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; He will faithfully bring forth justice.” God’s justice and total commitment to the truth is very real – but it isn’t at the expense of His gentleness and compassion. How many countless times have each one of us been wrong in our attitude about something (even if it has a basis in truth on some level), but still received grace and tenderness from the Lord? Of course, in due time, He also disciplines us and leads us towards the truth. But He doesn’t freak out when we are off-kilter. He deals with us gently when there is true hurt.
4) Maybe this one will come as a shock or make people upset, but here it is. I believe it’s possible to grieve loss of life without jumping to the conclusion or accusation that there was a virulent system in play or malicious wrongdoing involved. We are so quick to judge events through our pre-existing lens. But, that’s NOT justice. That just breeds more hate. More hurt. More death. What would it be like if, when something like #altonsterling happened, instead of immediately dividing into two starkly contrasting opinions (i.e. it was systemic racism striking again and those cops need to be crucified, or, Alton was a thug who deserved what he got), we all grieved for his death and his family, but all held back our rash judgements until the facts have come out and the investigation has run its course. Maybe there was wrongdoing involved. If there was, I earnestly hope justice will be served. But (at the risk of causing offense), it’s also possible that there was a legitimate reason for the use of force, as the officers have claimed. In either case, it doesn’t mean that loss of life isn’t tragic, or that we shouldn’t grieve or show compassion.
5) I mentioned lenses above. It’s come to my mind that, at the core, that’s what racism really is (or at least what fuels and perpetuates it). Viewing everything through a lens. And we will only be able to move forward insomuch as every one of us is willing to step back from our lens and look at things from another perspective.
6) Again, at the risk of causing offense – I’m tired of hearing that the opinions of white people on racism are invalid, don’t matter, or that it’s impossible for us to understand it. It’s true that we haven’t been the victims of racism in our nation’s history, and therefore do not have the personal experience and family history to draw from. Therefore, at best, our connection the plight minorities feel up against is one of empathy and compassion. That said, it is ALSO true that the fact that our emotions probably aren’t as deeply connected to this issue can actually be an asset in terms of judging things clearly. White people are often accused of having a bias entrenched so deeply by our history that we are blind to racism. But there is a fallacy in that argument. If that’s true, than it must also follow that minorities could have a perspective so deeply entrenched by their history that they perceive racism in everything, whether it’s there or not. Personally, I don’t feel that either argument is fruitful or beneficial. I think we should both be willing to LISTEN to one another, and be humble enough to admit that we all may have valid facets to our perspectives, and that the tension created by our differing ideologies is exactly what is needed to help us arrive at unbiased truth together.
7) Many people feel very strongly that our government, particularly our law enforcement and judicial system, are held under the sway of systemic racism and are saturated with bias. I’m not making an assertion either way, but I just want to point something out to get people’s thoughts. First, let me say that the numbers that follow are not from some article or off of a cheatsheet. They are individual numbers I acquired by going directly to unbiased sources of information. African Americans make up between 12.3 and 13.2 percent of America’s population. They make up 12% of our police force. Among federal judicial positions, African American’s make up 12.8%. My question is, if there is insidious bias at work, how can it be that African American’s make up a part of our justice system that is perfectly commensurate with their numbers in our nation as a whole? I don’t see how it would be possible for that to be the case if there was truly systemic (rather than isolated instances of) racism at work in those arenas, but I want to hear others’ thoughts as well.
8) Hyperbole is making matters worse. I keep seeing the phrase that “black people are being slaughtered like animals”, or that they’re being “hunted down in the streets”. That isn’t just a harmless exaggeration, it flat out bears no resemblance to the truth! #blacklivesmatter, I agree strongly – but truth matters, too. In Proverbs, it says that there are 6 things God HATES, 7 that He DESPISES. One of them is “hands that shed innocent blood.” And God will certainly hold such to account. But, here are 3 others that are equally important: a lying tongue, a false witness, and one who sows division. God will hold all to account. Last night, 10 officers were shot by snipers at a rally protesting police brutality (to be clear, I’m not insinuating that this is characteristic of these protestors as a whole). That’s what being hunted like an animal looks like. Being shot in the back, from a distance, for no other reason than the fact that you’re a cop. Being killed while violently resisting arrest is a tragedy, but it isn’t the same as being slaughtered or hunted down. I fully believe that deaths occurring at the hands of police officers should be subject to due process and investigated. And, I don’t believe that the lives of those who make mistakes no longer matter. But, the presence of criminal activity is, in fact, relevant – as are the circumstances surrounding someone’s death. To pretend otherwise is to set up a false balance – also something God hates.
9) The last thing I want to say is this. No matter what you think or feel about the role or racism in current events, it is absolutely inarguable that racism is a major part of our RECENT history. Slavery was in full swing just 150 years ago. That means there are people alive today who have heard FIRST HAND ACCOUNTS from those who were enslaved. Intense prejudice and segregation were much more recent, with many still alive today who were directly subjected to its affect. Do we honestly, therefore, find it strange that there are major setbacks still being overcome by people of color as a result of this, or wonder at the fact that there is still real emotional pain being carried in response? Sometimes I think we forget when we see a black president, black lawyers, black doctors, bi-racial marriages (I’m a big fan 🙂 ), etc. that these blatant injustices weren’t very far back in our history at all. And not everyone has been able to overcome the effects so easily (and understandably so). I only say this because it’s something we all need to recognize, and something we should ALL be able to agree on, no matter how you feel about the current “system” or the people who are comprising it today. I realize there are lots of questions that this raises as to how we should respond to this reality – and that’s a big part of why I feel that open dialogue is so important. I know so many people of color feel so angered at the disadvantage they face as a result of having been free only a few generations. Whereas, so many white people I know (I’ve felt this myself at times) feel frustrated because we honestly don’t know what you expect of us, since we (as individuals) weren’t the culprits in the past and don’t feel that we’re perpetuating the problem in the present. But, I know there is power in agreement – and if we can found ground to agree on, it can serve as a foundation to explore these issues. If we’ll all be humble enough.
In closing, I want to call to remembrance that we have a God who is both zealous for the truth, and meek and lowly of heart. His compassion heals us, and truth sets us free! So, let’s commit both to showing compassion, and to searching after truth – in one accord, with humility of heart.
#altonsterling #blacklivesmatter #bluelivesmatter #truthmatters #meeknessmatters