Gentle Reader,
On one thing we can all agree: What a week it’s been.
Linking up with Kate and my buddies. We: speak.
Go.
There are many things I could write tonight. Many things I could say.
Only a few need to be shared in this moment.
One: To my brothers and sisters of color, I am sorry. For the times I shrugged off an inappropriate joke. For the times I’ve been afraid of you because you are different from me. For the times I didn’t seek to understand. For the times I didn’t listen. I want to be better, to do better. This is not about politics; not about left or right. Not about looking good for anyone. It’s about publicly owning what I need to own. From here on out, I wish to be more aware and more sensitive. I want to build bridges instead of walls.
Two: White supremacy isn’t just hating people of other races. The groups that converged in Charlottesville last weekend would gladly do away with me – whether that means kicking me out of the country or killing me. Because I’m ill. Because I can’t have children. Because I struggle with depression and anxiety. White supremacists seek “purity,” whatever that means, and I’m certainly not that. There’s a good chance that you aren’t, either.
Three (I shared the following on Facebook earlier today): Many speak of the Civil War as being fought over state’s rights. For the sake of argument, let’s say that’s true. I need someone to explain to me why anyone is angry that the state governments are choosing to remove Confederate symbols from public display.
Think about it.
Finally: I follow several African-American Christian leaders online. They are all asking the same questions – Why can’t our white brothers and sisters see how this hurts us? How these things stoke the fires of hatred and prejudice?
We should listen to the people who have to deal with what these things stand for every single day.
Stop.
Also linking up with Suzanne Eller and the Ra-Ra Writers
More information:
The Myth of the Kindly General Lee
What Would Jesus Say About Confederate Symbols?
On Trump and Repentance
The 1850s Response to the Racism of 2017
Social Conservatism vs. Tribal Nationalism
Lost Cause of the Confederacy (this is from Wikipedia, so use it as a jumping off point)
Alt-Right, Alt-Left, Antifa: a Glossary of Extremist Language