Tag Archives: racism

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The Measure You Use

Most of the article I agree with.  The way that it's put into action is (at this point) one-sided.  Thus, a couple of different posts.

First:

“Don’t assume the worst about me because I don’t look like you. Don’t size me up based on how I dress, where I live, who my parents were, or if I ever knew my parents. Don’t speak before you listen. Don’t rush to judgment before you’ve heard from all sides.” Isn’t that what we all want?

Here's the thing.  Or "things" - I call them "uniforms" and whether we like it or not, we are likely to wear a "uniform" that portrays who we are.

We believe this person is a ________________________ because of ____________________

This person is likely to be _______________________ because of _________________.

This person looks like a ___________________________ because of ________________.

This person might be a _______________________ because of _______________________________.

 

Which person would you cross the street to avoid meeting on a narrow side walk?  Why?

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slaves
Yes and Yes. No and No. Yes and no, No and Yes.

I need to explain, yes?

Before reading, take a second to rest your eyes on both images...what feelings do they bring forth?  Are the feelings different or the same?

 

IF one image makes you feel different than the other, how so?  Why do you think this is?

Let's take 9-11 first.

Never Forget.

People died.  We were attacked.  Never forget those who died, never forget that  a minority of people who want us dead.  Use this teachable moment to illustrate honor, memory, the difference between right and wrong.  The difference between tolerating peaceful difference, vs. trying to destroy those who disagree with you.

The fact that a belief system can drive a person, or a group of people to violence, and that we, as human beings, cannot exempt from the possibility...never forget...

But...

Get over it.

We must also remember how easily we blur the line between remembering and holding grudges.   To blur the line between honoring a death or hardship, and wanting to exact a pound of flesh.  In order to fully honor those who suffered, we must resist wanting to profit from their suffering, even if that profit is emotional.

Also vital, to keep in mind that "they" are NOT all our enemy.  I remember a story shortly after 9-11 where a Sikh was killed because the murderer was confused by the head covering.

When we eye every person who is different than we are with suspicion, we lose part of our own humanity.  If we view every Muslim as a terrorist, we miss something.

Get over it.

And never forget.

The first image appears fresher in our collective mind, but you don't see the suffering up close - we can think not about the people throwing themselves to the ground and just think about the attack.

The second image burns through our brain.  Man's inhumanity to man.

The evil that was slavery in the United States should not have happened.  But it did happen.

Never forget.

We need to remember the time of slavery in our country, lest it happen again.

We need to remember chattel slavery in our country's history, and remember those - even today - who are kidnapped and made slaves.

We need to remember that many people react to unjust treatment through the lens of history.

We need to remember that we all (no matter what the color of our skin) harbor some sort of "feeling" toward some group, whether it's race, class, religion, sex.  It may be a tiny seed, but it's there.

We need to remember that we have all felt that "feeling" aimed at us, by another person.

Never forget...but...

Racism and bigotry dog us through history, and seldom is it the result of slavery.  We need to deal with racism and bigotry today as it happens today, as we see it all too often...but...

If "you" (general "you") think that you are owed money because you have ancestors who were made slaves, get over it

If you look at people who look different than you with suspicion simply because of the color of their skin, get over it.

If your "go to" assumption for everything is rooted in slavery...get over it.

Bottom line:

What's the heart motive?

Honor or greed?

self-centered or other-centered?

That's the heart of it.

Never forget...for all the right reasons...

Get over it...for all the right reasons.

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★★★★★★I think this is one I'll go through here (spiritual discipline, perhaps?)

As I was reading this book, the first part seemed like it is full of "white guilt" - expanding the sin of racism to all white people in the USA by virtue of the color of their skin.

After that, Piper explores individual sins on both sides of the issue - "both" because the reality is (at this point, anyway) the big divide seems greatest between African-Americans and Americans of European descent.  There is plenty of sin to go around.

When Piper gets into the meat of the topic - WHY it is a sin and why it matters, this is an excellent book.  I also broadened to topic to include "favoritism" (not just the race kind) and it became more excellent.

by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation, (Rev. 5:9)

From chapter 6 on, the book is steeped in the Gospel.  We are all created in the image of God - to practice favoritism in any way strikes at the image.

I'm giving this 4 stars (also working on a star system... 😉

 

 

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Abuse exists...and it happens way too often (once is way too often).  I am not writing about real abuse.

I am writing about those who cry "abuse" where there is no real abuse present or no abuse intended.

Sexual harrassment

  • A woman who has an employer that bases hiring and promotion on the cut of her blouse...bad
  • A woman who sues a co-worker for telling her that she looked nice on a particular day...get a grip.

Verbal abuse

  • You're stupid and not worth wasting time on...the person saying this should be disciplined by the "powers that be"
  • I think that you are showing a lack of understanding on this issue...this is a reasonable statement and could very well be true (or not)...but it is not abuse.

Physical abuse:

I believe that a false accusation is a form of abuse.  And "abuse" is an accusation from which there is little or no defense.  Like "racism" - denying abuse may only confirm the accusation.  In this political season, any disagreement with Barrack Obama may be seen as racism...likewise, a person who questions a woman in a debate-like conversation may be accused of "abuse".

Abuse is NOT a one-way street (meaning that male-on-female abuse is the only way the street runs).

On previous shows, "Primetime" has staged scenes of abuse in which the man is the aggressor, and the woman is the victim. And in these situations, passersby -- men and women -- often stepped up and intervened. So producers were curious. What would happen if the tables were turned, and the man was suddenly the victim? Would people be just as willing to come to his defense? (...)
"There are some data that suggest that women actually hit more than men do," says Keating. "Men create more damage, but women hit more than men do."

A report prepared for the Centers for Disease Control estimates that each year there are over 800,000 serious cases of men being physically abused by women. But the actual figures are believed to be much higher, since many men are often too embarrassed to admit being the victim of abuse by a woman.

One after another, passersby witnessed the abusive scene… and kept right on going.

Mathilda was one of those bystanders. She says she didn't think the man was in any physical danger, and could probably take care of himself. "I didn't immediately think to protect the man at all," she said. "It didn't look like any harm was being done."

The reaction of another woman, Lynda, was stunning. As our actress continued to heap abuse on her make-believe boyfriend, she walked by the scene and pumped her fist in a show of sisterly solidarity.

"Good for you. You Go, Girl!" is how Lynda recalls her reaction.

A pattern of false accusation, inattention and (one) actual support for a female abuser - all of this points to a problem of how we deal with abuse.

  • Abuse is always wrong.
  • False accusation is a form of abuse that has nothing to do with gender
  • False accusation is also always wrong.

The more I read about false accusations in the news, the more likely I am to view any accusation with skepticism.

The more people cry "wolf", the less likely we are to hear when there is a real one around.