I don’t know how many more posts I’ll write here. For a variety of reasons, this blog on race seems to be dying a slow death.
It’s a hard topic… maybe harder than you’d think. Yes, there are easy targets. Rush Limbaugh cooking up a conspiracy that has President Obama sneaking reparations past us all through higher taxes and healthcare reform. Jeremiah Wright talking about how “them Jews” will never let him in to see the president. It isn’t difficult to expose these bigots for what they are.
But here’s the problem: Both of those men have huge followings… literally millions of people who think that their words are right on target. And do you know what? You and I know and love many of those people.
So forget the demagogues. What’s difficult is generating a thoughtful, introspective discussion among and between their followers.
Why do you see the world the way that you do? What experiences have shaped your point of view? What beliefs do we share that might point a way through our differences?
We’re not interested in that.
In the end, we’re not really racists; we’re tribalists, determined to define ourselves and our tribes by who we are not. We are not you… you are the Other. And what’s important is that we keep all the Others separate and excluded by focusing how they are different from us.
Everything is black and white. You are either with us or you are against us. You are a red stater or a blue stater. Liberal or conservative. Gay or straight. Evangelical or secular progressive. Anti-abortion or pro-choice. Green or capitalist. Glenn Beck or Keith Olberman. Pro-labor or pro-business. Fascist or socialist. Hitler or Stalin. An on and on and on.
Race intensifies our tribal differences. We use it as a visible, outward symbol of some great difference that lies beneath. It’s subtle, and the more dangerous for it. We run each other through the simplest filters first – race, religion, geography, education, beauty, weight, dress. We put each other in tribes, our own or some other. And then we do our best to keep each other in those boxes.
A thousand different clicks can take us somewhere to get all our ideas and prejudices reinforced. Who wants to read a blog where they may be challenged? To look beyond our filters, whatever they may be… to see others for something beyond their Otherness… to at least start with our shared dignity and brokenness before moving onto to all the ways in which we are different?
Do you?
Wednesday, September 16th 2009 at 2:16 pm |
…if I may be so bold, Jim
…sincerely, please don’t stop
…your words, and the words of others on this blog, give great positive fuel for conversations with many of the developing leaders I have the sacred privilege of mentoring
…whether you realize it, or not, you are helping to form them, as well
…so I agree with Haggerty…keep going!!!
Wednesday, September 16th 2009 at 7:55 am |
I mentioned to Jim when he started this, that the only way to deal with the issue of race is to deal with it in your own life. Affect the people around YOU . Your family, your children, your friends etc. Pratice what you want a race incluisive world to look like. We can not legislate or brow beat peoples hearts. After a while it becomes rather mute to keep rehashing and going over the same things. If Mr Limbaugh and Mr Wright(I refuse to call him Reverend because no follower of Jesus would spew the hate he does) didn’t have an audience for their vitriol they would NOT be around. What does that tell you? If you want to have the tough perhaps uncomfortable converations about race have them where the will have the most affect, AT YOUR OWN DINNER TABLE. Bravo Jim for hitting this right on the head.
Wednesday, September 16th 2009 at 6:26 am |
Yes, I do. I want my ideas to be challenged so that I can choose what they are instead of having them assimilated. Yes, I do. As the mother of 2 multi-ethnic children, I want all the words, phrases, , and ideas that will help me discuss with them what comes at them from the world around them AND what they project. What kind of legacy do they want to leave? How do they stand up for themselves and be part of solutions, not creators of more problems?
There is a natural tendency to search for a tribe, for protection, for safety. It is instinctual. But answers to our global issues will come from those who think differently from us. A team does not have all the same strengths. They build on each other’s strengths and differences. United we stand. Divided we fall. A bit trite but never the less, something to think about.
And yes, I need your help to think about things that may be obvious. And yes, I need your help to think about things that are not.
This is the only blog I read or every respond to. My thanks to all of you.
Tuesday, September 15th 2009 at 2:47 pm |
Yes. I look forward to reading your blogs. I agree that for comfort, or expedience, most of our society just isn’t interested in inclusion. We’re taught at every turn to find the advantage, we brag about our kids being stand-outs, not for fitting in or being average. The cost we pay as a society is substantial. Burnout, isolation, online dating. We defer our deep relationships to a stage we call retirement. We live in safe neighborhoods so our kids won’t have to be exposed to the Others.
You’ve done a good job of trying to bring into the light the inherent value of each person, the universal need for relationship and the damaging intolerance some in our society bear every day. I would love to talk more about practical ways to reach out across the divide.
I’ve experienced a lot of this personally and I can tell you that we all share universal needs. Who doesn’t respond to kindness? Who doesn’t want to be respected. Who responds well to condescension, or pity? Small amenities go a long way. Look people in the eye, and pay attention to how seeing someone different makes you feel, pay attention to your response, then figure out how you can better respond. If you’re white and seeing a black man makes your mind race with an irrational fear. Figure it out. Where did you learn that? Deconstruct the reaction with reason and choose a better one.
The beauty is that none of us are far from each other. There are broader categories that include us. Thoughtful interaction can go a long way to clearing up the mystery. Keep going Jim.