Now that so many examples of systemic racism are being aired, I am - like so many white people - having to face my feelings about not knowing how bad it has been.
But that's the thing about systemic conditions. We are a part of those systems and when they work to our benefit, we don't realize it until it is pointed out to us.
Over and over again, white people are being held to some kind of account. Not that most of us had anything at all to do with implementing those systems. But we also need to see them for what they are. We need to accept the fact that we haven't seen them precisely because they are set up in our favour.
Our feelings can be harnessed to bring about actual change. That discomfort you may be feeling? You can use that to energize yourself to support those who have been suppressed. Once you know better, do better.
There are many people who have been educating about racism and how the systems in place work. It is not the responsibility of your black friends to educate you or justify their lived experience.
We are not innocent here in Canada and we also need to work towards changing the system so that it is equitable for all.
Someone on Facebook posted the comment that there are no white people in the Bible and asked white people to sit and think about that - take all the time needed.
Jesus was from the Middle East. All the disciples were also from the Middle East. If you believe in Jesus, then you have to accept that as the truth it is. If you call yourself Christian, then you need to follow the teachings of Christ. Not the later interpretations. Not the current 'prosperity christians'.
There is literally nothing in the bible about white people being 'better' than people who are not 'white'. Because there are NO white people in the Bible. Take all the time you need...
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1 comment:
I'm not overly religious, but I've thought about that point frequently when people try to use the bible to say why they're better than others. I never noticed anything saying that in the bible, I remember where Jesus and his followers came from and wondered why all the pictures of Jesus showed a white man, and why Mary was always white too, I knew enough about the world to know that wasn't right. The message I took away from the bible is that all people are equal in the eyes of God and not just people, the creatures of the world too. How disappointed he must be in what so many have twisted from his creation, he may now be starting to hope that we are able to change though.
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