Joe Biden said, you ain’t Black if you vote for Trump. Now Jemelle Hill says you’re racist if you vote for Trump. What you think of the President notwithstanding, isn’t this sort of labeling “racism”?
Robin DiAngelo’s White Fragility is, according to John McWhorter, a professor at Columbia University, “one of America’s favorite advice books of the moment is actually a racist tract. Despite the sincere intentions of its author, the book diminishes Black people in the name of dignifying us.” Another critique of this book can be found here.
“Karen” is now being used as a racist slur against white women.
“The white culture, according to the museum, is evidenced by such priorities as the nuclear family, a strong work ethic, rugged individualism, and politeness,” so said the African American Museum in Washington, D.C., until a backlash forced them to remove the chart propounding these ideas. The museum also listed Christianity as a whiteness characteristic; this is a new racism being touted as “anti-racism.”
“Blackness” and “Whiteness” are now finding their way into public school curriculums.
Going to National Parks is White, and racist? According to a segment broadcast on ABC News, Yes.
PepsiCo, which owns Quaker Oats, announced plans to retire Aunt Jemima from packaging on its brand of syrup and pancake mixes because it's "based on a racial stereotype." Owners of Uncle Ben's, Mrs. Butterworth's, and Cream of Wheat also announced their products' packaging would be reviewed. Dreyer’s Grand Ice Cream said its Eskimo Pie brand would be renamed. Trader Joe's will remove 'racist packaging' of brands including Trader José's, Trader Ming's.
Two great narratives about Black and White are presently in a Cold War.
If calling someone the “N-word” is a terrible racist slur that should not be used, and it is, why isn’t calling someone a “White supremacist” in the same category?
Describing businesses as “white-owned” or “black-owned” is not now simply descriptive but a way of promoting racial division, or what we used to call “segregation.” Something we worked to set aside in the 1960s is now resurrecting in 2020, in the name of anti-racism no less.
Identity politics in one source of this movement and at its worst identity politics is about class or ethic/racial warfare, which argues for inclusion but by definition is exclusionary, often arguing for silencing other views, rather than about ideals, constitutionally enshrined human rights and civil liberties for all. MLK, Jr worked for the latter and would not recognize much that passes for racial justice today, at least not as promoted by Black Lives Matter the organization.
One authority called racism a “mental illness.” Sorry. Not so. It’s sin. Medicalizing or psychologizing the problem won’t make it go away or make it any easier to understand, and certainly not resolve it.
Racism is wrong no matter who expresses it. Substituting a new racism for the old is not a solution, nor is re-segregating America.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
—Church attendance is not OK (C-19 threat); Protests are OK (no C-19 threat). The illogic on this one is astounding.
—Government orders re COVID-19 pertain only to the virus and produce no collateral damage. Political leaders eager to lockdown states in the name of public health seem to believe their actions don’t have any ripple effects or unintended consequences, but unfortunately, they are wrong.
—Somerville, MA city ordinance (likely the first) legally recognizes polyamorous domestic partnerships, changing the definition of a relationship as an "entity formed by two persons” to an “entity formed by people."
—Human beings are reducible to race, and racism is the root of every problem, so the solution is to re-segregate America.
—Critical race theory promoting identity politics and racist ideology, criticizing traditional families as sexist or oppressive, and leveraging victimhood as a tool to power is good for society.
—American patriotism is passé, or worse, evil, because America is morally illegitimate.
—Lawlessness should not be prosecuted if it fits a “social justice” narrative.
—Historical illiteracy or revisionism (a.k.a. falsehood) is credible if it advances a “social justice” narrative.
—“People will do what they do” passes for political leadership.
—Silence is violence. This one forgets this is a free country wherein people can choose to speak or not to speak as they see fit.
—To be White or “Whiteness” is ipso facto to be racist, or actually to be fragile and supremacist. Using or calling someone the "N-word" is considered a horrible expression of racism, and I agree, but why then is it OK to call people "White supremacist," also a racist designation?
—“Colorblind” is racist. Contrary to Martin Luther King, Jr’s vision for Blacks to realize their full rights and position as American citizens, many of today’s anti-racist agitators are propounding decidedly racist views.
—-Defund the Police. This is the most irrational idea currently getting traction. It’s about ideology not statistical reality and I am afraid for the cities buying this fantasy.
In none of this am I suggesting racism does not exist or that we should not work toward liberty and justice for all. Nor am I saying everyone who cares about racial injustice embraces these ideas; they do not. These ideas represent extremes, though right now the extreme seems ascendant in media and public discourse.
What I am saying is that much that is currently argued in the street and in media propounds failed and dangerous ideas that if adopted will result in more racism, less liberty and justice, and the destruction of liberal democracy.
This is a substantially more threatening plague than C-19.
In the meantime, the absence of wise adults in the public square is taking an emotional toll on us all.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
1-Created by God in His image.
2-Time, place, demographics appointed by God, all nations from one man.
3-Uniquely gifted, individually significant with ultimate value.
4-Endowed with reason and moral responsibility, thus freedom and accountability.
5-Mandated to develop culture.
6-Fallen, deceitful hearts.
8-Need salvation by grace through faith in Christ.
9-Blessed fulfilling God’s purposes via faith, family, fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, peace), free enterprise.
10-All races, ethnicities represented in Heaven, the most diverse community ever.
11-No individual reducible to race, for while part of the beauty of Creation, this characteristic is not the sum of existence.
12-God loves all, we are to love our neighbors, so racism has no place in God’s design.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
Since May 25, 2020, when George Floyd was brutally and unnecessarily killed by a Minneapolis policeman demonstrating what police brutality looks like, protests and eventually also riots have struck nearly every city and hamlet in the United States. Calls for racial justice, reforming or defunding police departments, rejecting what some see as “systemic racism” characterizing all of American society, noting “Black lives matter,” and a host of related or tangential issues are ringing loudly across the land.
To say race and/or racism are complicated issues is to make a profound understatement. But they are, and they “complexify” still further by mixing with many other issues and agendas in the noisy public square.
These are some of my thoughts on race and/or racism, attempting to make some sense, to create order from chaos, for now, for I like any living human being can and will likely change, though I hope for reasons rooted in a thorough understanding of my own Christian worldview.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
The blame-game is in full swing.
In the wake of the tragic and unnecessary death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police officers May 25, 2020, the country has been thrown into a period of social unrest, peaceful protests and decidedly non-peaceful riots including looting, arson, larceny, vandalism, and destruction.
The issues are racial injustice and police brutality. So, who’s at fault for what's now called “systemic racism”?
I don’t have an easy answer, and this isn’t about trying to trivialize or distract from these issues. Clearly, there are patterns of wrongdoing, including specifically police who’ve killed without provocation or needlessly, yet not been held accountable by criminal justice systems, this despite many reforms. This must change.
My point here is to note the blame-game. Who created this racial injustice?
Democrats blame Republicans. Republicans blame Democrats. Left blames Right, and vice versa. Conservatives, who may be different from the Right, blame Liberals, and Liberals, who may be different from the Left, blame Conservatives. Some blame not just bad cops or rogue police officers but all police officers, or at least police departments in general, hence movements to “Defund Police.” Some blame religion or the Church. One argument laid the blame for centuries of racism at the doorstep of Evangelical theology.
Blame and recriminations are an all-too-human response to crisis. Point the finger at someone else. It began in the Garden of Eden when Adam said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it” (Gen. 3:12). So, it’s expected.
But blame doesn’t get us anywhere. In fact, until we work through the blame-game period we aren’t going to listen to others, try to discern truth from fiction, or debate, much less forgive, change, and make progress.
It will likely be a while yet because feelings are so raw, and people are angry. They want to vent, some peacefully and productively and sadly some violently and destructively.
What we need is honest evaluation of facts, listening, and a moral discussion of what’s right and the right way to introduce meaningful reforms.
One thing we know. Jesus said, ““Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone,” (John 8:7).
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.
I can only remember maybe 3 sermons on racism or prejudice, and frankly two of these were mine. The point is, the topic is not, at least in the circles I’ve moved, a frequent flyer.
I have a friend who noted that many national Christian leaders have spoken in the ten days since George Floyd’s appalling death. Yet one wonders if local churches will deal with this issue head-on?
It’s a time if ever for the Church to lament, to listen, to speak, to lead the fellowship in understanding and reconciliation, to take action toward change.
It’s worth noting the Church universal and Heaven will be characterized by diversity, all God’s children. Yet Sunday morning at 11:00 am remains the most segregated hour of the week.
© Rex M. Rogers – All Rights Reserved, 2020
*This blog may be reproduced in whole or in part with a full attribution statement. Contact me or read more commentary on current issues and events at www.rexmrogers.com/, or connect with me at www.linkedin.com/in/rexmrogers.