“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the
age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it
was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of
Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair …, we had
nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct
the other way …”
~Charles
Dickens, A tale of two cities
In trying to
describe my emotions here in June 2020, Charles Dickens said it better than I
ever could. At the Vigil of Pentecost,
we brought a beautiful family into our Catholic faith. The children were baptized, the parents
confirmed in the Holy Spirit. Indeed, it was the best of times, the age of
wisdom, and the epoch of belief as they made their profession of faith.
Though the liturgy was subdued by the Covid-19
Coronavirus limitations, there was no limit to the joy we all experienced
seeing this couple receive Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist for the very first
time. The mood of the world around us,
however, was much different. It was the
worst of times. If a worldwide pandemic
wasn’t bad enough, the senseless death of a black man caused by an abusive
police officer in Minneapolis brought darkness and despair to our communities
across the nation.
Peaceful protests took place all across the
nation. Soon the message was
overshadowed by violence, stores looted and burned, innocent people assaulted,
and more deaths. Racism was again on the
forefront.
Of course, the controversy became a political
battle in the media. Many people in the
public eye issued statements denouncing the treatment of black men by law
enforcement. Individuals and
organizations who remained silent were sometimes accused of being racist, They
were often questioned in the media for a response to the unrest. Words had to be chosen carefully as they
would be picked apart by those looking to promote more conflict.
Fearing backlash, companies distanced themselves
from anyone in their organization who publicly attracted controversy. A longtime professional sports announcer lost his job because he replied that “all lives matter” when questioned about the
Black lives matter movement. Apparently
that answer somehow diminishes the issues particularly relevant in the black
community today. From my point of view,
saying all lives matter is unifying. We
are all the same. Finding fault with
that statement seems to foster division, but I understand that black lives are
the ones currently being targeted.
The problem is that NOT all lives matter in our
society today. Certainly the lives of
the unborn do not matter to some. The fact that abortion is legal in our
country shows that we do not regard human life as infinitely valuable. Black women are reportedly five times more
likely to have an abortion than white women.
If we can no longer even see God’s creation in an unborn baby, how does
that blindness disaffect our respect for all human life?
I have a hard time believing anyone is truly
racist, meaning prejudiced against a person simply because of their race. How could anyone be so irrational as to
exhibit hatred toward someone simply based on skin color? I do however believe everyone has a
bias. It is only natural to favor those
with whom we share common traits and interests.
When ranking those commonalities, skin color would be way down the
list. So, why do we have this racial
divide? Or is it really a manifestation
of class warfare or social structure? I
doubt that much racism exists among those in the same tax bracket.
In trying to understand the mentality that
determines our racial relationships, I can only try to self-analyze my own
personal view toward black people. First
of all, I need to acknowledge that I live in a small-town white, moderate to
low income community, and my exposure to African Americans is mostly limited to
what I see in the media. When I do
encounter a black man or woman in our town, I go out of my way to offer a smile
and friendly hello when possible. I do
this knowing they may be conscious of the fact they are in a rural white area
with southern roots and a redneck reputation. In my mind, the responsibility of
improving relations lies primarily with the white community extending a friendly
hand.
Having said that, I also feel that black society
over the past twenty years or so has somewhat disassociated itself from white
society through differences in music, fashion, and attitude. The gangsta mentality comes through in the
frequent news interviews we get from the city streets where violent exchanges
take place on a daily basis. We see black
women on social media display an over reactive attitude with the least
provocation. Yes, we have plenty of
white women like that also. I guess the
current craze is to call them Karens!
Unfortunately, when one’s primary view of the black
community comes through big city media, the impression is not normally
favorable and that is where our stereotypes are reinforced. We see black people portrayed in a good
light, but it’s the stories of crime and violence among blacks that leaves a
bad impression. If I had to choose
between walking through a white neighborhood or a black neighborhood in Chicago
at night, there is no doubt what my choice would be. Sadly, that choice might be tougher for a
black person to make.
I can understand why police officers might
overreact in a pressure situation. After
all, they want to go home to their families when the shift is over. The job is
dangerous. If you have ever watched Live
PD on the A&E Network, you get an idea of what they go every day. While watching the show, I have occasionally
wondered if the force they use dragging someone out of car is always
necessary. They are obviously trained to
overcome any resistance they may face, but when does it become unnecessarily
aggressive? Yet, when deciding how much
force a police officer should be allowed to use during an arrest, the goal
shouldn’t be to make it a fair fight.
Hiding the symbols or symptoms of racial injustice is
a desperate attempt to pacify the protesters and protect self-interests. Mainstream and social media has made us so
afraid of backlash that we resort to nonsensical ways to show our concern. Removing Aunt Jemima or Uncle Ben from
advertising is counterproductive and does nothing to solve the problem of
racial injustice. Would everyone be
happy if we replaced them with white models?
The whole notion is ridiculous.
Maybe someday we will have a museum of political incorrectness where we
can see all the statues, advertisements, and portrayals that were deemed
offensive during the twenty-first century period of misplaced activism.
Stereotyping and profiling aren’t going to go away
by a mere act of the will. They are part
of our fallen human psyche. We must look
deeper into the root causes of the attitudes we have toward others. We can
reduce the hatred that poisons any attempts to better relations. There are bad apples in every orchard. Some people cannot be helped. God will deal with them later. A strong faith and structured family environment
would go a long way to making this a better world.
