The Cynicism Part
There are more than enough white people using the current racial, political, and societal tensions to give their need to blabber on social media some sort of meaningful feeling. Instead of posting finely edited photos of meals we just made, our latest home reno project, or our favorite bible verse or a confusing quote by some long-dead author we have the delicious option to look like we care by talking about racism in what appears to be profound new ways.
And boy, are we eating it up.
I have been angry about racism for my whole conscious life. I have very early memories of my parents reading stories about Harriet Tubman to my brother and I. We learned about Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln. For a good chunk of my childhood we lived in a neighborhood where our skin color made us a minority. We played and grew up with a kaleidoscope of melanin. The first time I met someone in real life who made racist comments and actually believed them I was shocked and furious and immediately lost respect for them.
'How stupid are they?' I thought. 'Don't they realize that people are people? Why do they even care about what color that person's skin is? What does that have to do with anything?'
As I grew up, I became more and more familiar with how ignorant and dark-hearted many people are. At first I tried persuading them by passionately arguing. When social media started to become a normal thing I posted about racism and other injustices as often as I could. Then I tried to appear wise with well thought out blog posts(wait, what?). But still the videos of funny cats that I shared got way more attention than anything about what I thought were very obvious, fixable systemic issues.
Cynicism grew in my heart like ivy on an old building. I internalized the anger and the rage and I decided to process it on a smaller scale: in my own life. I felt like trying to draw everyone's attention to the injustice that was all around them and teach them empathy was a losing battle. People didn't/don't want to care. It's easier to live your life thinking that you're a good person and you're not the problem.
I got really good at having ways of dealing with the rage I felt without dumping it all over others(big thanks to my parents for putting up with my outbursts while I sorted this out). I learned a lot about how our own anger puts us in ivory towers and throwing stones just makes more bruises.
Then, a few years after I felt like I had made peace with my inner anger about racism and injustice and developed some(what I think are) healthy and effective ways to actually do something about it without burning out and wasting my energy on people who don't want to hear it, it became trendy to be a white person who is fired up about how terrible white people have been.
I must admit: I've only loosely followed the news. I've watched and read my friend's socials posts with deep, deep cynicism and slight indifference. I'm waiting for everyone to stop caring and for the next thing to come up like it always does. I'm happy to say I've been waiting for much longer than I expected.
I'm still very hesitant and skeptical. I don't trust human nature...because it defaults to things like systemic racism and blind eyes to injustice in the name of maintaining our own comfort. But this doesn't seem to be going away. In all of these posts and conversations I've seen a lot of people saying things like 'I don't know what to do or if there's anything I can do'.
As you can guess, because this has bothered me for a long time I've given it a lot of thought: what's our role in the face of such rampant injustice? A mountain can be moved, but you've gotta start chipping away somewhere. What's the most effective way? Dynamite's too destructive. Wailing on it with our fists damages us and leaves the mountain unscathed. Scaling the mountain will likely kill us. So what do we do? How do we use a boring, slow pickaxe without being filled with despair?
As I said, I've given this whole racism and injustice thing a lot of thought. I've sought out answers and help anywhere I can find it. And I've been incredibly supported by work that others have quietly and patiently done to build a foundation for such a time as this. So I thought I would share a few resources that have been foundational and ground-breaking for me. There are tons out there, but I wanted to give a select few in a specific order to communicate a train of thought that rolls through my head almost every day as I sort out how to be angry about injustice and love everyone equally all at the same time. Here we go.
Morgan Freeman's Short, Sharp Wisdom
I'm pretty sure I was in high school when I first heard Morgan Freeman leave Mike Wallace speechless. The interaction is brief, but powerful. The transcript is below.
Wallace :“Black History Month, you find?”
Freeman:“Ridiculous.”
Wallace:“Why?”
Freeman :“You’re going to relegate my history to a month?”
Wallace: “Oh, come on.”
Freeman: “What do you do with yours? Which month is white history month? No, Come on, tell me.”
Wallace: “Well, I’m Jewish.”
Freeman: “Okay. Which month is Jewish history month?”
Wallace: “There isn’t one.”
Freeman: “ Oh. Oh, why not? Do you want one?”
Wallace: “No. No.”
Freeman: “I don’t either. I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.”
Wallace: “How are we going to get rid of racism and ….”
Freeman: “Stop talking about it. I’m going to stop calling you a white man, and I’m going to ask you to stop calling me a black man. I know you as Mike Wallace. You know me as Morgan Freeman. You want to say, `Well, I know this white guy named Mike Wallace.’ You know what I’m saying?”
If you don't know what the man with the most soothing voice in the history of mankind is saying, I'll explain. Racism exists because we choose to see humans through a specific set of lenses. A lot of this is by default. My mom remembers when I was very little I asked her why the first black person I ever saw was so dirty. Skin color is very present and obvious, but color is also just something we perceive based on the way the receptors in our eyes interpret the way light reflects off the things around us. In short; you only see color because your eyes have the ability to pick up signals that make everything more beautiful, textured, and vibrant. If you couldn't see color, you'd just see another person, and you'd identify them by(I would hope) their name. That's what our good friend Morgan is saying. As long as you call this guy black, that guy white, and that guy Asian you're placing a lot of their identity's weight on the color of their skin before you even know their name or their favorite food or hobbies or loves or fears. Choose not to see race. Choose to see a person who is equally as important and interesting as any other person you will encounter at any point in your life. Choose to live as though racism doesn't exist and it won't; at least not around everyone who chooses to practice this.
But Doesn't Racism still Exist as a Systemic Issue?
Yep, and that sucks, but you won't solve it if you're raging mad and still choosing to identify people by their skin color.
So do I just not talk about racism at all, then?
Yes, and no. Because you are now paying attention to the people around you regardless of skin color, you're now going to be noticing their interests, likes, dislikes, and inner struggles more than were before. You'll find yourself making room for them to talk, instead of preaching at them. They might come to trust you and share things with you they would otherwise feel unsafe or uncomfortable telling others. Notice I'm not telling you whether they have the same skin color as you or not. That doesn't matter. You're seeing the person and loving them beyond what's on the surface of them OR you. Things like hate, anger, and interpersonal relationships are going to come up, because that's what we're all struggling with deep down. Deep down we're all trying to sort out how we fit and what that looks like. Sometimes racism will be a part of that conversation. Sometimes it won't. Thank God for when it is. Thank Him for when it's something else.
Jason Petty AKA Propaganda
But you're still angry about racism! I know. Me too. That's why I love rap; it's great angry music. Few rap artists have voiced the anger surrounding racism and injustice better than propaganda. And he has done more than just air dirty laundry - he's cleaned it, too. On way more than one occasion, I've put on one of his albums on a drive while feeling angry, and he has done two very important things: validate my anger, then show me what to do with it without destroying a soul. I especially recommend the song 'It's not working' on the album, 'crooked' but everything he makes is excellent.
The Brilliance
I said few artists have voiced the anger surrounding racism and injustice better than propaganda. David Gungor and John Arndt of The Brilliance are part of that few. Their albums are like tapestries about pain, suffering, injustice, confusion, and anger all woven into one coherent thought that resonates in my heart for days afterward. It's not coincidence that Propaganda and The Brilliance toured together a while back.
Insurrection
Insurrection is a book by author Peter Rollins. He's written a lot of excellent stuff(including a deliciously titled, 'the idolatry of god') but insurrection is hands down the most impactful book I have read in my 28 years of life. I finished it 6 months ago and it's still shaping the way I view the world, the people in it, and my own part in everything. There's a lot I could say about this book in way more than the arena of racism and injustice, but I'll just give you the following quote:
"..a way of living that is able to short-circuit the present social, spiritual, or political order, something that we witness at a political level in the life of Mother Teresa, who no more protested against the caste system in Calcutta than she affirmed it. She simply lived in a different reality. She lived as though it did not exist, helping all who came to her regardless of their social class. This act of living the not-yet state of equality as if it already existed in the now is the truly political act, an act that directly confronts unjust systems by ignoring them and living into a different reality."
And if that's not enough to get you hooked, I don't know what is.
Above All
This brings me to my last resource: what I consider to be the most helpful and poignant. The bible. Set aside all religious notions for a moment. I'm not asking you to believe anything. I'm not asking you to perform some strange ritual and join a cult. I have just one suggestion: if we read the bible in its original context of history and politics, we find it to be the most universally relevant piece of literature related to the struggle of being human. Whether you are christian or not, look for some people who can help you take in the context of the bible(the bible project is my number one recommendation for this). It is a book comprised of smaller books written by a people group who have been oppressed for longer than time and history can account. To date, no one has a better answer to how to live in the face of gross oppression and injustice and exploitation. You may have protests on the tip of your tongue about sacrifice and slaughter and apparant God-ordained genocide. This is why context is so damn important. The more I learn about context, the more I realize how radical and contrary to the system the bible was in its days of being composed. Then, at its culmination, I see how much Jesus is the embodiment of all of it. Jesus lived in a time period where his own nation was living under Roman occupation. Their entire country was enslaved. You wanna talk about systemic injustice? That's it, right there. And nobody was pretending it didn't exist. Lots of people wanted Jesus to be the leader of a revolt and overthrow their oppressor. But Jesus pointed instead to the deeper systemic brokenness of the human heart. He opposed the system in just the way Mother Teresa emulated: he lived as though the system didn't exist and justice had already been established--and it was. Justice was established through how Jesus treated his fellow humans, not by overthrowing the system. He didn't see people as black or white, crippled or healthy, rich or poor--simply human. Jesus ate with 'sinners' and he socialized with outcasts. He befriended romans and israelis alike. His love knew no bias and no bounds. This was his simple but absolutely profound answer to all injustice; including racism. And I have found no better.
In summary, I'm sorry for adding to the noise. There's enough people talking about what's going on in our world. I may be saying things that most other people are already saying and learning, which would bring joy to my heart. If I'm not, I hope this was helpful. If it wasn't, don't share it. You can tell me I'm wrong, but I'd bet your energy would best be spent on loving whoever is sitting next to you.
