My parents both received college degrees. There was never a question that I would do
the same.
That’s not the case for a
large percentage of the population.
Family history mattered.
In high school I decided one day that it would be fun to
bring a cap gun to school (this was before the days of school shootings). I shot teachers in the middle of class and
they chuckled. I shot other kids in the
hall between classes and nobody cared, until a teacher that I didn’t know ‘busted’
me, confiscating the cap gun and sending me to the vice-principal. I sat in his office waiting for the stern
lecture and the consequences, but he just laughed and told me to take it
home. I learned that day that ‘good kids’
can get away with things that would get others in deep trouble. Reputation mattered.
In seminary I was one of the very few members of my class to
have interviewed and received a call to a congregation by the time I graduated. Many of my female classmates had to wait much
longer for a call. Some were even offered
part time positions. I had the ‘correct’
chromosomes and faced no opposition or suspicion. Nobody ever referred to me as the ‘male’
pastor, as if I carried the weight of an entire gender. In the interview process I didn’t receive a
single question about when I planned to start a family. I was immediately accepted by my congregation
(and congregations around). Gender
mattered.
Shortly after moving to my first congregation in Illinois I
got pulled over for going 20 miles over the speed limit. It
was one of those tricky places at the edge of town where it feels like you’re
in the country but the speed limit is still 35.
As soon as the lights went on behind me I knew that I would receive my
first ticket. To my surprise the officer
gave me a warning and sent me on my way.
I later learned that the county dispatcher had told him that I was a
pastor. Most people would have received
a ticket that day. I drove off with a clean record. My profession mattered.
Not once have been stopped by the police for ‘suspicious
behavior.’ I do not get stopped by the TSA
in airports. Apparently I don’t ‘look
dangerous.’ When flying home from a
conference in Denver this past summer we had to wait while Pastor Hassanally
was pulled aside. She shrugged it off as
‘they always stop someone with the name Hassanally.’ Having white skin (and a European name) matters.
When I hear people of color teaching their children to
expect the police to stop them…I cringe.
Why should skin color matter?
Apparently it does! Arrest and
incarceration rates among people of color are off the charts. Just ask the people of Ferguson, MO. Not everyone gets the benefit of the
doubt.
My female colleagues talk about having to prove themselves
to people in their congregations because of their gender. A powerful male pastor is considered ‘assertive.’ A powerful female pastor is spoken of in much
less complimentary ways. Only in the
past couple years have I seen a significant number of women become senior
pastors in this area. Not everyone gets the benefit of the doubt.
All through my life I have worked very hard to succeed. I view life as a game to win, and I’ve done
pretty well, but it’s easier to ‘win’ when the game is set up in your favor. I’ve lived a life of privilege that a vast
number of people in this country (and world) can only dream of.
We live in a culture of systematic racism and sexism. While we’re quick to condemn out-right racist
or sexist comments, we’re much more comfortable living with a system that gives
the benefit of the doubt to some and that forces others to have to prove
themselves as worthy. I’ve always
received that benefit of the doubt.
The hard question is not, “Who is a racist?” or “Who discriminates
on the basis of gender?” Well
intentioned people can find themselves playing out a societal narrative of
discrimination. The issues run deep, to
the core of the fabric of society.
As a white male it can be easy to think that we live in a ‘post-racial’
and ‘post-gender’ society. Nothing can
be further from the truth. It’s time for
an honest conversation about race and gender in our nation. The protests of recent weeks have displayed
the deep pains of huge swaths of our culture.
People’s wounds cannot simply be ignored. God's children suffer!
I don’t have amazing solutions to these troubles, but I do
know that sweeping them under a rug and pretending that all is well is not
acceptable.
As many of you as were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus. (Galatians 3:27-28)
We all need to take this message seriously. It's so easy to say I worked hard and I deserve what I have, as though privilege had nothing to do with it.
ReplyDeleteExactly! Life is definitely more complex than the 'pulled myself up by my bootstraps' narrative.
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