I started this blog post
about three weeks ago, prior to the events that recently occurred in
Charleston, South Carolina where a lone white male attends a church prayer
meeting of a Black congregation, kills nine.
I will wait patiently for the investigation to hear what was said as he
stood to his feet and with Prejudice, Malice, and Hatred began to shoot. There
is no doubt this is the worst kind of Prejudice and the worst crime when one
kills out of hat for the one’s skin color, religion, or even sexual
orientation, which shows that we really haven’t moved beyond the story of Cain
and Able over the past 6,000 years.
Ironically, we these
events and we scream, cry, and demand justice. However, prejudice behavior is
going on around us every day.
Before we begin let’s define the word Prejudice from
the dictionary …
”
1) An unfavorable opinion or feeling formed beforehand or without knowledge,
thought, or reason. 2) Any preconceived
opinion or feeling, either favorable or unfavorable. 3) an unreasonable feelings, opinions, or
attitudes, especially of a hostile nature, regarding an ethnic, racial, social,
or religious group.”
I’m amazed today how that
we throw this word “Prejudice” around, and accuse others of being prejudice. The conservatives accuse the liberals and
vice versa, whites of blacks, rich of the poor, and the list will be a mile
long if we continue. We allow experience,
perception, and fear to dictate how we respond to individuals that look
different, have a different belief system, different religion, or simply a
different skin color.
We allow the events of
our personal history or an attack or even a perceived attack by a group of
individuals of a different ethnic group years ago, either to us personally or
someone we know sets the stage for us to be prejudice against an individual or
the group throughout our lives. We can
be prejudiced of an individual due to their faith, because not of something the
individual has done to us but because of something some else of the same faith
or religious group has done. I have even
begun to notice prejudice response within our own community. I recently spoke
with an individual that stated conservative black Politian’s where not worthy
of respect because they don’t really support the cause of Black America. An individual was recently accused of having
homophobia, because she didn’t support gay marriage.
I personally grew up with
prejudice tenses; I think we all have some.
Throughout my teens my dad was a retired Air Force Sergeant, and had
gone to work for General Motor. It was
often hard to watch things happen like individuals with fewer skills are get
promoted over this man that had so many skills. It was hard to accept the two
list system of the 70’s where two minorities where promoted within the local
police and fire department, over others that had scored much higher on the
test. Or as a student watching others getting
accepted to college with the same grade point average as mine, and other things
in the name of Affirmative Action. Now
some would immediately say he isn’t prejudice, he is a racist. However, the reality is very far from the
truth, I accept and love that scripture verse found in the Holman Christian
Standard Bible version that reads: There
is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in
Christ Jesus.
How do we take America
and the world back to being able to accept the writing of the Apostle Paul and
make prejudice or racism a distant cry in America? I think that there are four major, however,
simple steps to accomplish this goal.
1) We need to quite attempting to rewrite
history: Sadly, in my
family legacy there are things I’m not proud of some of it so ancient that I’m
not sure I know the whole story, and some more recent. Whatever the event or legacy that dosen’t
define me. We talk about accountability.
I’m only accountable for my words, actions, and opinions not what my
grandfather said 50 years ago.
2) We tell the radical on all side TO
SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP, this goes for the media, to
actors/actress, religious extremist on all sides to. We learn to speak for
ourselves, or feeling, beliefs, and desires. We don’t allow organization to
define us; we share our heart, emotions, and feelings. We don’t allow extremist
and activists to tell who to like or not like.
3) We quit demanding everybody believe
what we believe.
This includes allowing individuals to have their personal religious
beliefs. Just because I don’t agree in your life style choices such as, gay
marriage, and marijuana should be legal, polemic, or many other beliefs that
individuals have. These don’t make me prejudice, my beliefs are based on a well
thought beliefs based on my understanding of my Christian beliefs.
4) Time to sit down and have Breakfast,
my best friend is Robert. Now let me
explain Robert is an African American pastor here in Cincinnati that I have
known for over 24 years. And it all
started with having breakfast at a Perkins Restaurant all those years ago. Do we always agree? NO, do we always see things the same no. However,
one thing is for certain we always talk about it.
When
is prejudice going to be eradicated in America, to me it is very simple … When
America is willing to sit down at the Breakfast table and talk about feeling,
beliefs, and acceptance of others.
Or
better yet, when we are ready to sit down at the Lord’s Table and pray, and
have communion together. I learned a long time ago, I can’t be prejudice, angry
or talking about someone if I’m praying for them and with them.
My
heart breaks over the events in Charleston, S.C. I don’t attempt to understand
the mind of the attacker, and I believe justice needs to be done. I believe the
conversation has to begin, not with the extremist on both side, but at the
breakfast table learning to know, love, and compare with each other.
