Pretty sure in America right now that no one had to wait until Martin Luther King Jr. Day to ponder the current race relations in our country. This picture I took on my walk illustrates it pretty accurately. There's a clear divide.
And we can't ignore it. Well, we can and we do. But we shouldn't.
Please know I am not lecturing, preaching, or casting stones. I mean I consider myself a kind, loving human to everyone. I'm a good person. But it's clear I can do better.
I started reading a book yesterday called Waking Up White: And Finding Myself in the Story of Race – a 2014 non-fiction book by Debby Irving about the subject of white privilege. Wow. Although I can't identify with her country club upbringing, I didn't have to. Everything else she's pointed out so far about our perceptions and stereotypes, about how history has shaped this divide and each generation seems to deepen it, is spot on.
The majority of us were born into white privilege. It doesn't seem as obvious if we're just living in our little bubble. It's not even a fancy bubble. It's just one I've worked for and feel safe in. That doesn't mean I'm privileged in any way, does it?
Well, let's think about simple things that maybe you wouldn't normally call privileges. The author has an exercise to do after each chapter and this one is what I'm on – thinking about the "little things."
Like tonight, dressed in jeans and old sweatshirt, I was able to walk into a gymnasium and take pictures of children who mostly are strangers to me. Sure there were several people I knew, but I didn't think for a moment the others were suspicious of me, questioning why I was there.
And like yesterday when I was on my lunchtime walk – looking lovely in my work-from-home very casual attire – I came up to a sheriff's department vehicle at the stop sign and said hello. I didn't think my safety was endangered for a minute.
Does this resonate with anyone?
I'm only about a third of the way through the book, but I see myself. I'm embarrassed and ashamed. But I see myself. The question is, when I'm finished with it, what am I going to do? Will I do anything?
As Dr. King so aptly stated, “History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”
Sometimes being a good person isn't good enough. God, bless us all!
Posts
2 comments:
Well, there are plenty of leaders in the democrat party such as Raphael Warnock and AOC who are stupid enough to use racism to combat perceived racism. Tensions rise as innocent white people are told that they need to hate the color of their own skin; that they should be punished for actions committed by distant relatives of the past.
This scenario would be like me filling up buckets of water out of a bathtub and pouring them into a flooded river in hopes of bringing down water levels. Not only would such action not work, but also contribute to the problem. I do not buy into the nonsense of critical race theory or stuff relating to woke culture.
Post a Comment