They were waving Nazi flags. NAZI FLAGS.
What else needs to be said? There is no grey here. No appropriate response other than outrage. No room for equivocation or rationalizations.
Like many of you, I have been struck once again by a sense of powerlessness bordering on despair in the face of what happened in Charlottesville last weekend. How do we respond to such ugliness? Such hate? Such violence? Who must we be and what must we do?
Since last Saturday, I have read literally thousands of words about what happened. I have tearfully watched an absolutely bone chilling first hand video account. I’ve observed the conversation unfolding on cable news shows, Facebook and Twitter, occasionally weighing in with a comment or question. I’m not sure if I am looking for answers or just feel the need to bear witness. To be part of the hand-wringing, head-shaking and wondering what’s next.
My friends of color aren’t surprised by what happened. They know from personal experience this undercurrent of hate and prejudice is alive and well in our country. In my bubble of white privilege, I preferred a rosier outlook, a comfortable, optimistic “look how far we’ve come” view of the world. For opening our eyes to the reality, I suppose we owe a debt of gratitude to our president who has made overt racism and hateful rhetoric fashionable again.
So now what?
It is simple, but not easy. We must speak up and we must listen.
We speak up and call out evil. We speak up and name it every single time we hear racial stereotypes and religious bias. We speak up and declare hate absolutely unacceptable.
We speak up and let our friends of color and friends of other religions know we have their back. We speak up and say we are so sorry for the ugliness still being aimed at them. We speak up and ask questions:
- What can I do to help?
- How can I support you?
- What do you need?
- How do you feel?
- What is this like for you?
- How can I be a better ally?
And then we listen. We shut up and listen. We DON’T rationalize, minimize, sanitize or in any other way invalidate their experience. We listen, we say we are sorry that they are still having to face this bullshit in the year 2017, and then we ask the same questions again:
- What can I do to help?
- How can I support you?
- What do you need?
- How do you feel?
- What is this like for you?
- How can I be a better ally?
White Christian friends, we are going to screw this up some of the time, maybe even a lot of the time. We are going to be messy, awkward and uncomfortable. We are going to put our foot in our mouth and say the wrong thing sometimes. Believe me, I know from personal experience, because I’ve done it.
But that can’t stop us. There is no alternative. These are our sisters and brothers and they need to know we will NOT tolerate this anymore. That the Jesus we say we follow will not tolerate this anymore.
So we must speak our words of love, reconciliation and humility LOUDER than the perpetrators scream their words of hate, entitlement and arrogance.
Our healing words must be LOUDER. Click To TweetSpeak up. Shut up. Listen. Repeat.
Over and over and over, until we make it right.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Linking up again this week with my friends at Five Minute Friday. This week’s word is SPEAK.
I love your sentiment and the way you express it here. It feels good to have something concrete to do in the midst of feeling so helpless at what is going on around us. Thanks for your post today! your FMF neighbor #60
I love your sentiment and the way you express it here. It feels good to have something concrete to do in the midst of feeling so helpless at what is going on around us. Thanks for your post today! your FMF neighbor #60
Thanks Bethany! So glad you found the post meaningful. Keep writing, sister!
does not god see neither black or white are we not all the same in his eyes?
I think God sees us in all our glorious diversity, exactly how He made us. He could have made us all the same, but apparently choice to paint a more colorful picture. Just like I celebrate the uniqueness of my two children, I suspect God celebrates each of His unique children and all the many things that make them beautiful- including the many colors of our skin. Thanks for stopping by and commenting, Linda ????
Amen and amen! I’m saving this to share in one of my “round up” posts.
I too have been wondering “what can I do? I’m just one person”. Welll, collectively all of our voices will be louder than the hate filled ones.
Kelly,
I am so moved by your commentary on the very disturbing events in Charlottesville and the resulting hurtful and dangerous position coming from our nation’s “leader.” Derryl and I both applaud you for your transparency, bravery, empathy, and speaking the truth in love. As African-Americans who experienced some of the Jim Crow south, this was all too familiar, unfortunately. However, it is very reassuring to know that we have genuine allies, and uniting voices that are willing to engage, listen, seek greater understanding and demonstrate the true love of Christ. Thanks for encouraging others to do the same. I will be gladly sharing your post .God bless! Jackie