I had left the military base by bus when I was supposed to have waited for my parents. I thought I knew where they were, at a friends house downtown. I got off the bus and started walking down the street when I realized I was in the wrong place, and the bus wouldn’t be back again until morning. So I started to walk home in the direction I believed our hotel was located.The sun quickly descended behind the horizon and a cool breeze made me regret not wearing a light jacket. The dark made everything look more sinister, and the distant bark of a dog sent a chill down my back. I was in the 7th grade living on the island of Crete and had no business walking downtown at night. The Greeks in general were nice people, but we were told not to walk alone because there were those who resented Americans. There I was, young, alone, and lost in a society I didn’t know anything about. Surely, I would be treated with respect. Why would anyone want to hurt me?
That moment of fear is as close as I get to understanding what my black brothers and sisters feel on a regular basis. The differences are many. They are suspect in their own country if they venture out of their own neighborhoods. As much as I have resisted the idea, white privileged does exist and I am a benefactor. In most cases I am given the benefit of the doubt, and if I reach in my pocket it isn’t assumed I am reaching for a weapon. My motives aren’t immediately impugned. It is even hard to wrap my head around what people of color go through because it is totally outside my experience. Yet to deny that people are treated differently because of their skin color, religion, ethnicity or sex is to bury my head in the sand.
Some lacks demand that Caucasians constantly feel guilty for past (or even present) atrocities, even if they did not perpetrate them. However, the majority expect nothing except equal respect and a safe place to live. When I say a safe place I’m not necessarily speaking of physical harm, but emotional safety as well. I have been in countries where people look at westerners with derision. Walking into a store you receive stares and looks of disgust. I have quickly moved away from certain areas because just the stares are intimidating. How much worse if you live in a country where the people you share your allegiance with look at you with the same kind of disgust.
The scripture says, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus,” Galatians 3:28.
As believers in Jesus we are to stand shoulder to should with those who are oppressed. We are to speak out against injustice and break down the barriers that divide us. We should welcome with open arms people of color and not expect any less of them, because they are equal in every sense of the word. But what can I do in my little corner of the world?
1. Acknowledge that there is a problem even if you don’t completely understand how people of color feel.
2. Learn to push back prejudice and engage in conversation with people who are not like you.
3. Treat people of color with respect. They don’t want our pity or our money. They just want equal opportunities.
4. Don’t join in conversations that are prejudice in nature. Gossip and slander are sin no matter who it applies to.
5. If you have the opportunity publicly take a stand. It may feel uncomfortable, but you in the you will have an impact on bringing people together.
”Whatever we do,” The Apostle Paul said, “do unto the glory of God. I’m just saying….
From the Bunker Day 67
No comments:
Post a Comment