The One About Racism

Image credit: Creative Commons, sepyle86

I'm not going to lie, I was very hesitant to write this post. 

On one hand, I didn't want to seem like I was virtue signalling -- in my opinion, a lot of the companies and artists posting lately seem to be doing so to ride the wave and score brownie points rather than sharing an actual desire for change. That's not something I want to take part in. 

On the other hand, my actual opinion doesn't toe one line or the other, so to speak, and I don't particularly want to field a flame war in my comment section (which for me would be like 5 comments at most, but still) or post something other than what I actually believe. 

But I know that staying silent is a statement as well, and not one I'm comfortable making either, as silence often signals consent with the status quo. 

So here's a few thoughts about racism, privilege, and how to talk to each other about it all. 

1.) There IS actually a problem. 

Before I say anything else, I need to say that. 

Yes, minorities in most communities in this country, particularly people of color, face a lot of crap that white people do not. 

And yes, many police departments have a problem with corruption and with brutality that needs to be addressed. 

It exists, we need to do something about it. 

2.) You can't fix the world. You CAN help your community.

No one can save the world (and besides that, it's already been done). There's some big stuff that we can push for, like prison reform, or voting for federal level politicians, but on the whole, the most impact you can have is going to be with the people immediately around you. 

What is the police department in YOUR community like?

Is the sheriff up for re-election soon? What's his track record been like? How about his management of the county jail (incarcerated populations often have overrepresented numbers of minority inmates)? 

What communities in your area are particularly vulnerable or need resources? Is there anyone who works with them that you could ask? 

If you work in a leadership position (ministry, business, as a teacher, etc) do you know if there's any needs of a given population you come in contact with that you could better meet or consider? Even if it's only one or two people? 

Big change is made up of a thousand smaller changes. 

3.) You need to respect people who are open to dialogue as rational individuals, even if they seem to disagree with you, or say stuff that makes you uncomfortable. 

This goes for people on either side of this conversation. 

Using myself as an example, I'll admit that there are certain things in the conversation about white privilege that I struggle with. There are things that apologists of that concept seem to imply that I can't quite get my head around, and that I can't honestly accept as I understand them to be.

 (I'm not going to explain them here because I think they'd distract from the point I'm trying to make. And I hope you can see from what I've written so far that I agree there's a legitimate problem and conversation that needs to be had). 

But in most places I've tried to discuss these hangups, I've basically been attacked as 'part of the problem'. The majority response has been, from several people, almost verbatim, "you need to do some individual introspection and you'll see that you totally do have some totally racist biases, and, oh, by the way, you need to read White Fragility because you are clearly a model example of what that author talks about." Never mind that I actually agree with the majority of what they're saying privilege is. (I have met a couple people, both white and people of color, actually willing to discuss and engage with people where they are at, and I'm very thankful for them). 

Never mind what my actual struggles and experience are. They don't engage those, or ask me to elaborate. They just say that. And honestly, using the same tactics as Mormon missionaries, "do some introspection as you read this and then read the Book of Mormon and you'll see that I'm right", isn't a great look (my apologies to any Mormons reading this; I've liked every Mormon I've ever met, but I don't care for y'all's organized evangelitization techniques). 

On the other hand, I've seen people trying to explain white privilege to a hostile audience, and being shut down as a 'Libtard' or being otherwise attacked, even when they're making a rational, reasoned statement and/or drawing from their personal journey or experience. And that's REALLY not a good look. 

 Shutting people down rather than engaging them will not win you any converts or change any hearts. 

Being patronizing will not win you any converts or change any minds. 

Becoming defensive and rude will not win you any converts or further the conversation. 

I'm not saying you should engage someone being flagrantly racist or combative. It's a waste of time, and, yeah, some people are a$$holes. 

But if someone is asking for clarification or revealing a struggle or disagreement and wants to talk about it and wrestle with it rather than shout you down, maybe engage in conversation with them rather than dismiss them out of hand as a cretan. 

4.) Be aware that ALL media outlets have a bias. Diversify where you're getting your information. 

 

Every media outlet has their own leanings and bias. Every single one. 

Some are worse than others. Fox News, for example, is well known for its heavily conservative leaning bias. MSNBC is known for its liberal bias. 

All of them have one bias or another, so it's important to take your information from several different sources with different biases. All of them are going to emphasize different facts or viewpoints, so to get a more complete picture you need to read several and compare them, rather than letting one particular news company do your thinking for you. 

Is it more work? Yes. But you'll get a more complete picture of what's actually going on. 

On that note...

5.) It's ok to take a break from the news. 

 

Put the phone down. Go play with your kids or go weed the garden or bake a loaf of bread. 

Take a breath. Let yourself think about something else for a little bit. 

This stuff is extremely important and valid, and needs to be talked about, but your mental health and family are important too.

If you've been obsessively staring at your phone and getting invested in news stories and conversations/arguments to  the point that it's significantly altering your emotional state, it's ok to take a break for a bit. 

I've personally found myself being more short and harsh with my kids because I've been emotionally and mentally frayed from engaging with this stuff for hours at a time on my phone. I've also noticed I've been more likely to want to drink in the evenings to help deal with the stress. 

Neither of those are a good thing. 

Your primary responsibility isn't combating racism and police brutality-- it's taking care of your family. 

Its ok to take a step back and focus on that. 

6.) Prayer is always a good idea. 

Even if you don't feel you can do anything else, you can pray. 

Feeling helpless? Pray. 

Not exactly sure how you should look at things? Pray. 

Feeling more angry than you've ever felt before? Pray. 

No matter what your reaction or struggles in the face of all this, you can pray for peace and healing, and whatever change needs to happen (even if you're not entirely sure what changes should be. God knows). 

7.) Above all, be a decent human being. 

Lasting change doesn't happen all at once, it starts with individual people changing. 

Be kind to those you meet, and try to see Christ in them, regardless of their skin color, wealth (or lack thereof), accent, or how much they annoy the living daylights out of you by their actions. 

If nothing else I said in this resonates with you, I hope that at least that does.

See the rest of this week's takes here.