I’m going “off track” today; although, I believe my thoughts
written here represent a faithful effort to follow Jesus.
First of all, a few disclaimers; in fact, the disclaimers
will make up the majority of my blog today, because (1) the general response to
a controversial comment seems to be to find ways to discredit it by making it
say something other than what it really says, and I want to do everything in my
power to ensure that my statement cannot be twisted and misrepresented. And,
(2) my actual statement is relatively short.
The issue is the fiasco surrounding San Francisco
Quarterback’s chosen way to protest police brutality against people of color.
At the very least, he raises an important issue that needs to be discussed.
Unfortunately, his chosen way of expressing his protest has proven
counterproductive because virtually 100% of the attention has focused on his
method, rather than the content of his concern. The tail is wagging the dog.
So, on to my disclaimers:
·
I sincerely believe that the vast majority of
police officers in America are good, well-meaning public servants. The issue
being protested relates to a tiny minority within the constabulary. Still, one
incident is too many.
·
I do believe racism remains a major concern for
the American culture; but, I don’t believe everyone in America is a racist.
Most racism is sub-conscious, because virtually everyone agrees that it is
evil. So, most racism is suppressed and denied, but is a subtle shaper of
interracial interaction.
·
And, yes, I believe that racism is not exclusive;
that is, there are racists in every ethnic population.
·
I affirm the statement by D. A. Krôlak, posted
in his blog August 25, 2015:
ü
If I say, “Black lives matter,” and you think I
mean, “Black lives matter more than others,” we’re having a misunderstanding.
ü
If I say, “White privilege is real and it means
White people have some unearned social advantages just because they’re white,”
and you think I mean, “White privilege is real and it means White people should be
ashamed of themselves just because they’re white,” we’re having a
misunderstanding.
ü
If I say, “We have a problem with
institutionalized racism in our legal system,” and you think I mean, “We have a
problem with everyone being racist in our legal system,” we’re having a
misunderstanding.
ü
If we’re having these misunderstandings, where
are they coming from, and what can we do about them?
·
The misunderstandings to which Krôlak refers
originate in the defensive, self-justifying rationalizations I mention above,
viz., the effort to discredit a statement by twisting and misrepresenting it to
make it say something other than what it really says.
While that last bullet point represents exactly what I hope
to avoid with all my disclaimers, the effort, I suspect, will be futile in many
cases. So, I’ll just move on to what I have to say:
Colin Kaepernick’s “peaceful protest” is valid, and he is
within his constitutional rights to do it exactly as he did. That being said,
aside from raising awareness of his concern, his protest does not seem to have
advanced his cause in the least; in fact, his method has become a major
distraction from his intention. As for awareness, that’s been done. What we
need is not more awareness, but a shift in our mutual understanding of that
concern. Too many Americans don’t want to be a united culture. They want to be
a uniform culture, with their own perspective being the standard for that
uniformity.
Until we come to terms with that need to be the standard for
everyone else, it matters not what method we use to protest—or affirm—anything.
And even if, for argument’s sake, we affirm the validity of a uniform culture,
before we can agree on anything, we
must understand each other’s
perspective.
That’s the way I see it through the flawed glass that is my
world view.
Together in the Walk,
Jim
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