Racism

Mar 09, 2008

Throughout time, we see that the human race has always had issues with discrimination. Up until the early 1920's, women were not allowed to vote, and up until the mid-1950's, African-Americans were still continuing to live in a segreagated society away from the White's. As I researched this, I began to understand the fact that within us is a capacity to hate, and that scared me. The fact that humans such as myself were capable of evil, even of starting wars over whether or not a person deserved to be free just because the color of their skin.
But the world began to change on Decmeber 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks started a revolution by keeping her seat. She sparked the Montgomery Bus Boycotts, and that was a major step in the civil rights movement. A segragated society that people had always known was beggining to crumble. All because people were fed up with the way things had been for as long as they could remember. They ventured into the unknown world of change, having faith that God would come through and change the future. Forever.
I sometimes hear people arguing over whether or not racism still exists today. They'll say all of that was fixed in 1955 when Rosa Parks kept her seat. But how can that even be partially true? Racism was prevalent in our lives then, and it continues to be an undercurrrent in our world today. One of the most publicized example I can think of is the Jena six. Have you heard of them? Outrage has been spread throughout the small community, and accusations of a partial, racist system have been voiced. Loudly. Neighboorhoods and churches are being split, and a few of the public schools are under investigation. You can see pastor's and parents on the Dr. Phil show almost daily. The stir and controversy the Jena six have caused in increddible.
At Columbia University in New York, people have been seen with nooses around their doors. Other's have been spotted around the country with nooses on the back of their cars and trucks. One school teacher was questioned when pictures of her putting nooses around her students necks surfaced. She claimed she was teaching them about the Civil Rights movement. The children were in kindergarten and first grade. A hate movement seems to be on the rise, and we cannot continue to deny it's existence.
I distinctly remeber one day when my dad and I were talking about discrimination in general, and the topic of the rebel flag came up. Years ago, I didn't even know what it was, aside from the flag the South used during the Civil War. He told me about one year, when we were at a Pumpkin Patch in Tennessee. It was a huge family event, we went there as often as we could. The browns and reds only present in October, and the warmth of home-made apple cider by the bonfire were the things I anticipated each year.
However, the day came when we were in Tenessee at the right time, and we didn't go to our familiar retreat. I asked my dad about this, and he tried to explain what the rebel flag's subliminal message was to an eleven year old. You see, the last year we went to that pumpkin patch, my uncle (who happens to be black) had been with us. Although we had never seen it before in the years we'd been there, an enormous rebel flag had been painted onto the barn.
This memory has been brought up several times over the past months as I try to explain my viewpoint about it. Although it's a very controversial issue, and there are many different circumstances and viewpoints regarding it, I'd like to try and explain why I think it's wrong. When I see a rebel flag, it is my nature to automatically wonder about the person who is wearing one. This makes my life difficult when I discover my friend wearing one, especially as they notice the uncomfortable look on my face. I can't place where it comes from, but something within me wants to tear the flag apart.
I understand fully and completley that the flag is a part of Southern culture, and Southern "Pride". Many of you don't realize that I was in fact, born in the South. But this brings up another point, would Jesus wear a rebel flag? I would say no, and someone else might say yes. I believe in my heart of hearts that Jesus yearns for us to be like him, live like him, and love like him. I know that I want to be like him, and I know how hard it for me to love someone when they have, what to some would call, a symbol of hate on their chest.
Now, let me make this very clear. I don't think wearing a flag makes you a bad person. I don't believe wearing a flag makes you not a Christian. But I know that when you wear a flag that represents to someone else a time of pain, and enslavement, how hard it can be for that person to respect you, or listen. This is vital when trying to show someone the love of God. When something that many people, who just happen to be racist are proud of wearing and showing, is it really something you want to seen in? Do we, as Christians, want to be percieved as people who hate, when we claim to know the God that is Love?
Most of you that wear rebel flags do not see it as being racist at all. On the contrary. It is your heritage, and you have every right to be proud. The problem with that type of thinking, is that other's don't know why you're wearing the rebel flag. They'll either assume you're a racist, or that you're stupid because you can't see what it means. I had a friend come and visit me from up North, and she didn't understand why it was ok to wear it. I remember her saying, "If you don't want people to think you're a racist, don't wear the stupid flag." This friend of mine is also black, and was at the time questioning her faith in God. She said this to me after coming to a church service.
Let it be known that I am not condemning anyone, I'm just trying to explain both points of view. I'm only trying to help, and please understand that. People will attack me when I say something against what they believe, and they automatically become defensive. That is what happens when we present anything accusatory. This is what happens when we send a message we aren't intending to send. When we appear to be something that we might not be, we put up a wall around ourselves, prohibiting God to work through us. When we offend people (especially those who aren't saved) and even if we don't mean it, it can hurt.
Like I've said, most of you do not intend to hurt anyone. I'm not sure that the people at that pumpkin patch were racist, but the implications that come along with a piece of clothing, or a bumper sticker, can effect the way God wants to use you. Most of you aren't racist. Some people on this Earth, are. Shattering piece of information, isn't it? This is why it is so important that we present who we are to others with the utmost care.
I'm going to tell you another stoy that a wonderful friend told me when she heard I was writing this article. She was sitting at Il Primo Pizza one day with a friend and began to watch two girls as they walked on the side walk outside. One of them was white, the other was black. She watched as a few older kids parked their truck that had a huge rebel flag standing up in the bed. As the older kids got out of the car, one of them picked up the flag, went towards the other girls, and proceeded to wave it in their faces.
Do you see what we're up against? Complete hate for someone you don't even know, making sure they know that you hate them, and demolishing any chance of knowing them deeper, all in a metter of seconds. Do you still think that flag has no deeper meaning that Southern heritage? I'm sure, at one point, that's all it meant. But the human race has, once again, distorted something that was probably once harmless. No one can honestly look me in the eye and tell me that the flag does no harm to anyone, because society has made it to do so.
That brings up another issue that people don't always understand. Things are constantly cahnging. Time is always moving. The world is always spinning faster and faster. Ignorance can no longer be an excuse. We've got technology that probhibits that. We, as the church, need to be engrossed in the culture of the world around us. We have to be the examples. We have to have something different that everyone else dosen't. We have to have something everyone else wants. Knowledge. Is. Important.
We've got to know that God wants us to Love our neighboor as ourself. That includes people who look different, speak different, and maybe act different than we do. God wasn't saying just love Ethel who lives next door(although, she's included in there...) We are to love one another equally, no matter what the circumstance. God said, "Don't judge, Or you'll be judged." We realize we live in a material era in the world, and all of the images we see, we judge. But I think God is really talking about a person's character and heart. None can know the heart, it can't even understand itself. That's a serious thing.
Food for thought: Does it really make sense to judge someone because of their skin? Skin color happens to be something a person has no control over, and something a person could not change, even if they wanted to. Although we are not the same (We are all unique) we were all created in God's perfect image. We are all God's children, and therefore, brother's and sister's in Christ. It's a big responsibility, loving the world, but God did it, and continues to do it. After Jesus came and died on the cross, left Christians with a responsibility similar to that of his. He told us to go out to the ends of the Earth, telling other's about the good news, and the love Jesus has for everyone.
In this day and age, it may seem an impossible task to love. To truly love, at least. Our world seems so full of hate and despair, and I sometimes catch myself buying into it. We are on this Earth for a reason. We are to shine a light, and have a joy that only God can give. And by joy, I mean sense of peace and calm, that only God can give us in the midst of this chaotic setting. Joy dosen't mean being constantly happy, it means having something within yourself that is capable of not hate, but Love.
The human nature is to be selfish, and hateful, and sometimes, evil. When we becom a Christian, we say that we're not going to try to be a mirror image of Christ. Knowing we won't be perfect, knowing the road ahead is narrow, but knowing that God loves every creature on this Earth. Understanding, for the first time, that life is not about us, but about Christ. We are his examples. When people hear my name, I wan them to know i'm a Christian without having to ask. I wasnt to be able to exume that kind of love, and I hope that one day I can.