Trigger warning: Demeaning words and nicknames have been used in this post to highlight the trauma that is occurring. Please don’t read this post if you do not feel able to see these words in print.
Regardless of your or my affinity for the organization, I like the phrase, Black Lives Matter. It very boldly asks me to commit. Do black, and all other BIPOC, experiences really matter to me? Until they do, I cannot claim the values of equity. We denigrate ours whole society when allowing one group to experience more harshness than another. It is impossible to favor one group above another without harming the souls of all whom favoritism touches. Can we really claim the love of God who forgives and loves all equally if we permit an environment where BIPOC experience unjust ruthlessness, women must work harder, LGTBQ+ are targeted, or the disabled cannot gain access?
I am very discouraged by the prevalence of name calling still widely used, “Illegals,” “Nigger,” “Retard,” “The Gays,” “Idiots,” “Trash,” and so many other words that drip with contempt. If you are reading this post, likely using these words are not your particular vice. However, have you considered how lumping people into a category often results in a harmful view of them? Consider the term, Karen, for a moment. My daughter came home grumbling about a teacher, surmising her complaint with, “She’s a Karen.” Despite her complete lack of understanding about what “a Karen” is, she’s learned that this was a way to show disgust with someone.
Now let’s get even closer to home – The republicans are warmongers, the democrats are socialists, Christians are tyrants, women are emotional, men are horny, children are noisy, old people are stuck in their ways, young people are reckless. Lumping people into a derogatory category strips away their humanity, and robotizes them (in our own minds) into a mechanism of the monstrous classification we’ve created.
Please hear me clearly on this – I am not advocating for the removal of cultural celebration and ancestral recognition. I want to fully celebrate the group of which you are a part. I am asking us to check our mindsets and our motives when we’re talking about a group of people. Are we recognizing them for more than one characteristic or attribute? Are we humanizing them in our minds by acknowledging the complexity of their lives, beyond the few details we happen to be discussing? Are the people we talk about more than a concept? Do their lives matter?
Photo Credit: Tinu Roland, https://nappy.co/photo/2522
We are aware of the magnitude of this subject matter and the inadequate brevity of this post. For more, please reference our podcasts, our 1Community groups, or feel free to email us at Uniquelythesame@mission1race.org.
We also wish to address our inability to consider issues of sexual, physical, emotional and spiritual abuse in our discussions on developing understanding and oneness. If you are in an abusive situation of any kind, we encourage you to seek professional and other help; and to realize that this content does not necessarily apply to your circumstances.
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