#TakeAKnee & Social Inequality

Warning: the following post comes in response to the events, Tweets, protests, and Facebook posts of the last couple weeks. It’s lengthly, so read at your own risk. And yes, you have the right not to read it at all.  🙂

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“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.” – Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Isn’t it interesting how we always remember the most uncomfortable times in our lives? It’s like those moments are red flagged in our brain, and no matter what, we can’t shake them. Personally I have plenty of those moments that I’d just as soon forget. Uncomfortable times like first dates or forgetting someone’s name that I should know. However, there’s one uncomfortable moment that I will forever be grateful for.

It was the summer of 2016, and I was sitting at a cafeteria lunch table across from a friend. Our country had just experienced the second shooting of a black man by white police officers in a matter of weeks. I was white, he was black, and there was obvious tension in the air. You see, we liked each other and got along great, but we didn’t know each other “like that.”

Not a “me vs. you” tension; but an “are we going to talk about what’s going on in the news or not” type of tension. There was small talk for sure, but it was uncomfortable small talk. The type of small talk when you know there’s much more that needs to be said.

Finally,  in between forced down bites of salad, a question finally stumbled out of my mouth. It wasn’t much, but it was the only thing I knew to say.

“With all that’s going on around us, what can I do?”

His simple response? “Use your voice. Use your voice to bring about change.”

The conversation that started there and transpired over the next 30 minutes was transformational for me. It changed my understanding. It changed my way of thinking. It changed the last 16 months of my life.

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Fast forward to this last week. To say the least, it’s been a whirlwind week surrounding Presidential comments, protests, Twitter wars, and assumed Patriotic judgement. As I read endless stories, watched what was transpiring on my tv, and heard what seemed like thousands of opinions on the subject; four familiar words continued swirling around in my head: “What can I do?”

I’ll use my voice.

I’ll use my voice to stand up and speak out against racism and social inequality. For too long I’ve been quiet with the opinion of “well that doesn’t affect me.” But I’ve been silent for too long. Ignoring what is going on is just as bad as supporting it.

Just like the conversation that transpired in that San Antonio cafeteria last summer, there’s a conversation that needs to be had by more people across the country. It may be a conversation that’s uncomfortable to have, but it’s a discussion that must take place.

It’s a conversation that goes deeper than the surface. Deeper than protests. Deeper than the flag. It’s a conversation about the freedoms we should all have, and even more importantly, a conversation surrounding our love for one another.

 

#TAKEAKNEE
We’re a diverse and flawed country. And that, just like being a part of a family, is one of the things that makes us so great. Men and women have died serving and protecting this incredible nation. A nation that offers each of us the right to peacefully protest. #TAKEAKNEE isn’t about the flag. That’s been well documented. It’s about freedoms. It’s a statement against the social inequalities in our country. Inequalities that do exist and are happening daily.

I believe in standing for the flag. I faithfully stand and proudly salute the symbol. It stands for thousands of men and women of all races that served this country. But even more important than that, I believe in standing for the freedoms that our flag represents. I believe in honoring the symbol of our country by living for the values that it stands for.

I never served in the military though, so don’t just take it from me. Take it from 97 year old WW II vet John Middlemas. His message? Love. Middlemas told local reporters “I wanted to communicate what I always told to my grandkids and everybody else. When they’d go to bed at night, we’d tell the kids we wanted to be like Jesus. I’m trying to say that you have to love everybody. ” #LoveWins

And when you think about it, that’s what true patriotism is all about – Love. Patriotism is not setting off fireworks or grilling burgers and drinking beer. It’s not really about flying a flag on your front porch or standing during the national anthem before a football game. Real patriotism is loving your fellow countrymen enough to put their needs above your own.

Side note #1: If you want to get juiced up about misappropriations of the American flag, what about all of the merchandise that is sold daily across the country? We have American flag socks, beet cozies, thongs, bikinis, and more. Just click on this link to see for yourself. Then you can really have something to get fired up about when it comes to misconduct of the American flag.

 

“But I Have Black Friends”
For the longest time that was my go-to statement when validating to others that I’m not racist. How silly was that! If the last 16 months have taught me anything, it’s taught me that life isn’t about who you friends are, it’s about the message your life communicates.  For me, as a white male in his mid-30s, I can’t begin to fully understand or completely comprehend what my minority friends have gone through and the inequalities they face on a daily basis.

Growing up in the south, I saw destructive acts of racial violence. I saw people cussed out, spit at, and beat up on. As a high school basketball coach, I’ve seen these injustices as well. I’ve seen players on my team treated differently, looked at disparagingly, or ignored all together because of the color of their skin.

There’s a great video of San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich from Sports Illustrated. If you haven’t seen it yet, you should.  Coach Pop makes some great points about “white privilege” and what it means in our society.  I agree. There are distinct advantages of being born white, and most days “we” white people are oblivious to it.

Side note #2: Don’t believe that white privilege really exists? Consider these things …

• Who’s “flesh-color” does a band aid match?
• When I need shampoo, I can find it on the hair care aisle, not in the “ethnic section.”
• I’ve never been asked to speak for all the people of my racial group.
• I can go shopping wearing a hoody without threat of being followed or harassed.

Now’s the time for that to change. Will “white privilege” ever go away? Sadly, I don’t have the answer to that. However, what I do know is that myself and others like me should be leveraging it each day to champion the rights of others. We must use it to fight for justice, to work for peace, to shed light on darkness.

I refuse to live in a comfortable bubble when we live in a broken world. A world where great men don’t let their black sons walk around their middle class neighborhood in hoodies. All of us – every man, woman, black, white, brown, boy, and girl – must choose to come together. Foolish talk cannot divide us. Distractions cannot separate us. We must use those things as motivation to unify as brothers and sisters.

Now, as much as ever, there must be an intentional effort to:

• Acknowledge that racism and social inequality exist,
• Speak out against what is wrong,
• Stand up for what is right.

 

It’s Not About Me
When it comes to social equality and how we should treat one another, the Bible lays out a pretty clear answer in John 13:34: “… love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Here Christ is referencing the pattern of love He displayed to the disciples when He previously washed their feet. He laid aside His status, and instead became a servant. 

If we are to love our fellow man, if we want to truly stamp out racism and social inequality, we must realize that “it’s not about me.” It’s not about what we can do for ourselves. It’s not about our individuality or selfishness. It’s not about personal right or gain. In truth, it’s about putting the needs of others before our own needs.

Philippians 2:3 puts it this way: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.”

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Simply put, racism is wrong. What happened in Charlottesville is wrong. Putting our own self-serving needs before the needs of others is wrong. Social inequality is wrong … and we must do something about it! We must do something about it in our homes. We must do something about it in our families … our churches … our workplaces … our communities.

Discrimination and racism should have no place in our country.  And by starting within our own circle of life, we can focus social harmony and understanding in a way that will have a ripple effect. We must have conversations and gain perspectives that are not our own. We must teach our kids to love one another regardless of race, gender, political affiliation.

Division will never build anything, but with unity and love, great things are possible. Right now, as a country, we are poised with pen in hand, ready to write our own future. We must bring a message of light to this dark world. A message of love amidst so many signs of hate.

We must all use our voice.