Fleshing it out
Today I came across a re-post in defense of themselves. The man is an older white gentleman who
claimed to have no privilege and not be advantaged. We will not get into the blind spot that so
many white men have. He posted it
because he was “fedup” with being called a racist. I truly don’t know much about this individual
so of course, cannot speak as to his heart or his life. But it truly bothered me, which means there’s
a rub and I need to flesh it out, to find out where I stand on every item he
brought up.
To paraphrase Jen Hatmaker, the edges have been frayed for a
while. Challenges to the way I once
thought or felt about the world and my place in it began popping up. God began a work in me, chipping off parts
here and there that were “mainstream” church instead of what He truly meant
when He said as the #2 thing: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR.
So here is my truth, after a lot of soul searching, scripture
searching, and knee time:
On PRIVILEGE: I grew
up in a 2 parent home. My mom was able to stay home while my sister and I were
young. She went back to work when I was
8. I am white. While men have had it
easier than me, I have had it easier than most. I have privilege.
On ADVANTAGE: I am here because I earned it and by the
grace of God, have a husband who is fiscally responsible. Am I advantaged, hell yes I am. For years I didn’t have any fiscal wherewithal. Am I at an advantage now because I have
someone who guides in it, you bet.
On the LBGTQ Community:
I am heterosexual which means I don’t know the first thing about what it
is like to live a life where it is necessary to hide who you are or who you
love inside. I have not been as loving
as I should have been to the LGBTQ community, but I am a work in progress and I’m
here to get it right. I will love everyone
as Jesus taught. I LOVE the depth of
diversity you bring to our world.
On other FAITHS: I
know and working through my faith. No
matter what, I am here to get it right. I will listen and hold space. I open my heart to our differences.
On GUNS: The Second
Amendment was written in 1791. Our
country and world are different. We did
not have the protection of a well-funded, vast military. The right to bear arms
exists, but this amendment was not written when automatic and semi-automatic
weapons existed. The first automatic weapon with a separate
magazine in the grip was the Borchardt pistol.
It came about in 1893. 102 years
after “arms” were given as a right. I
personally find both of those types of weapons irresponsible to put in the hands
of non-trained individuals. But I’m not
going to take away nor would I support the taking away of your right to own a
gun, just not one who’s creation is explicitly for war-time and for killing of
humans.
On CHANGE: I’m over 40 and I recognize that I grew up in
a really different time. I grew up where
we celebrated the first woman astronaut went into space in 1983, while men had
been there since 1971. I recognize that
the world is vastly different for my son than it was to me. I do not feel out of date, but I recognize
that my views need to be challenged.
Change is okay. Remember, we are
here to get it right.
On RESPONSIBLE NEWS
GATHERING: I gather my news from AP, USA
Today, and MSNBC. I even look at FoxNews
occasionally- remember, we are here to get it right which means we have to look
at the whole picture.
On HERITAGE: Being proud of your heritage doesn’t make one
a xenophobe. How you treat people who
are standing on our borders begging for help, or are here on a work visa
indicates if you dislike or have prejudice towards people from other
countries.
On HARD WORK, FAIR
PLAY and FAIR COMPENSATION: Just because
I believe that people deserve our help, doesn’t mean I don’t believe in hard
work, fair play and fair compensation. I
work my tail off. I still make $.82 compared to a man’s for the same work. A
black woman makes $0.62. Fair compensation
only works when the playing field is level.
It never has been. Helping
someone up doesn’t mean I’m a socialist or Antifa (neo-Antifa, because to be an
Anti-Fascist as it originally was, is a good thing).
On SUBSIDIES: If you believe in bank subsidies than you
sure should be able to believe in helping people in an economic crisis. Besides if you pay what is charged by the
grocery store then you believe in subsidies.
Everything we buy from a farm is subsidized by the government.
On the FIRST
AMENDMENT: As an American and as someone
who supports the Constitution, I support someone’s choice to kneel during the
National Anthem. Not doing so is clear
indication of supporting the First Amendment as long as it is in line with what
you would say or believe. Once again, we
are here to get it right. Just because
they don’t agree with you doesn’t mean you can’t support their RIGHT to speak
it, or kneel. I believe everyone has a
voice. I will fight for your voice,
regardless of if I understand it or agree with it. That’s the whole point.
On the HISTORY: Being
offended by someone’s desire to remove Confederate monuments makes it about
you. It evidences the lack of respect for
their voice, their feelings or their own personal history and familial
history. Imagine walking through a park
every day, as a person of color, only to see a monument to the time in our history where it was perfectly
legal to own a person of color.
If we’re preserving monuments that have to do with our
history as a country, then would a monument about Hitler be appropriate?
No one is trying to erase history. The
goal is to tell their story; to have a voice; to not be reminded every time
they walk through a park that they were once property. Glorifying the hatred that came along with
the Confederacy by refusing to step into another’s shoes or listen to their
voices, WILL cause history to repeat itself.
On BLACK LIVES MATTER:
Hell yes, they do. Right now, the
focus is on changing the conversation. All lives have always mattered. But
right now, the America I see doesn’t feel that way about black lives. So yes, Black Lives Matter.
On COVID-19: I watch scientists and their data on
COVID-19. I wear the mask. I pay
attention. Unfortunately, we have failed
leadership during this crisis. It is NOT
only about YOU. It is about US. Seatbelts aren’t comfortable but we wear
them. WEAR THE DAMN MASK.
On our LEADERSHIP: I do
not support the current President. I believe he is unfortunately, a mirror into
part of our country. It is an ugly
image. We are desperate for change.
It boils down to this.
IF LOVE, THEN…
Wear the mask
Black lives matter
Brown lives matter
Women count
LGBTQ lives matter
The Confederacy was a terrible time- don’t glorify any of it
Slavery was wrong
Segregation was wrong
We have to listen to other voices
We have to hold space for other opinions
We need to ask ourselves when forming opinions: Can I honestly say that love is leading
this? If the answer is no, we need to
flesh it out.
WE ARE HERE TO GET IT RIGHT. That takes time. It takes patience. And it takes being uncomfortable as we grow. It's okay to have to change.
