Murica 11/8/2016: Elects
the most openly racist president in something like a hundred years.
Murica 11/9/2016: “How
dare you suggest we are racist!”
I know I said I was going to stay off social media for a while. I’m trying.
I’m sure sometime soon I will be a bit more conciliatory in the interest
of being the better person. Yesterday, when
I learned that so many of my “friends” and neighbors think my family is
valueless, was not that day. Today is
not that day. Tomorrow isn’t looking
good either. I don’t know how to make
you feel better about that. Electing any
president has consequences. Your choice has
frightened and deeply hurt many, many people of America. This is one of the consequences of electing
Trump, and you need to acknowledge it, own it.
Sadly, I doubt it’s going to be the worst of the fallout.
I’m not sure what reaction you expected from social
justice-minded people when you voted for him, but it was probably
unrealistic. For future reference, if
you associate yourself with a racist, sexist xenophobe, you are likely to lend
the impression you are a racist, sexist xenophobe. I deeply apologize if this surprises you. Here’s a thought; take all that indignation,
offense, and belittlement you may be feeling about being stereotyped and
misunderstood. Now, multiply it over two
or three hundred years. You then will still
understand only a fraction of how it feels to be Native American, black, Hispanic,
female, Muslim, LGBT+, mentally ill, or differently-abled in Murica. Why do I say only a fraction? You can choose to turn me off. You’re probably not being denied dignity, the
right to protect your own land, housing, a job, clean water, a crotch safe from
grabby hands, the right to walk down your own damn street without being harassed,
assaulted, or murdered by the people sworn to protect you; an adequate
education, equal pay, health care, the right to vote, or anything else Murica
has denied others. You don’t have to
wake up tomorrow and every day knowing your country thinks you don’t matter.
With the entire depth of my being, I hope you will ponder
how you arrived at a place where these behaviors are palatable, maybe even
preferable to you… especially if you consider yourself a follower of
Christ. It is a deeply disturbing dichotomy
to see people who say they love Jesus rationalize the degradation of the very people
He died for. I am not one of those vapid people that thinks
you can say all kinds of malicious things, then excuse it with a misappropriated
Bible quote and a smiley face emoji. I
may not even be a very good Christian, but I know the Bible and what it means;
I know the One it leads me to. I know what He had to say about all this. After
talking about loving God with all our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths, He taught
us to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. As. Much. As. We. Love. Ourselves. How's that for some inconvenient truth to meditate on? Then he told this story:
A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell
into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went
away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road,
and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when
he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan,
as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on
him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he
put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. The
next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look
after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra
expense you may have.' "Which of these three do you think was a neighbor
to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert in the law
replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and
do likewise." (NIV, Luke 10:25-37)
Trump and the unjust system he has gleefully promised to perpetuate
are the robbers. Are we going to be the
stiff-necked, self-righteous Jewish leaders who think they only have to care for people exactly
like themselves? Or are we going to be
like the despised, racially mixed Samaritan who understood the heart of God? I’m done entertaining excuses by the Christian
Right and those who are being misled by them.
If you want to be a right Christian, do what Christ says to do. Take care of the people he loves, which in
case you’ve missed it, includes ALL of us.
#RedandYellowBlackandWhiteTheyArePreciousInHisSight #nevertrump #Murica #notmypresident #blacklivesmatter #pussiesforsocialjustice
