I am a white man. This is currently the most unpopular perspective in America. Most people don’t care what we think, and I understand why.
White men have, historically, conquered and oppressed others. Women and people of different ethnicities have suffered greatly at the hands of white men. Let us remember, however, that white men have suffered at the hand of other white men as well.
The simple truth is, power tends to corrupt. It has nothing to do with the oppressor’s skin color or gender. Asian men can be oppressors. Latino men can be oppressors. Women can be oppressors.
I acknowledge the evils that have occurred at the hands of people of my demographic. I believe that the perspective of minorities is important and not to be censored or ignored. I agree that black lives matter. But why should my perspective be ignored?
I am not, never have been, and never will be racist or oppressive. It is simply not in my nature. I was raised better, and, as a Christian, I believe racism and oppression are sinful.
I was raised in a military family. As such, I spent much of my childhood living in military communities, which are quite ethnically diverse. I will not say there was no racism, but it was certainly uncommon. I grew up knowing that we judge people, not by the color of their skin, but the content of their character.
My favorite teacher was a proud Native American man who taught us about all kinds of cultures. I did not have black friends, white friends, and Asian friends. I just had friends. It did not matter to me that their skin was darker than mine and they didn’t care that mine was lighter. We were living Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s dream.
It was not until we moved back to the states (from Japan), that I saw the ugly face of racism. I was a minority white student in a majority black school for a few months. I was not treated badly by everyone, but I was afraid to go to the bathroom by myself because I had been attacked (I escaped before being hurt, thankfully) by another student. I don’t know if he was racially motivated or not, but I felt like a target from that point on.
Soon after, we relocated to a new school system where I was now in the majority demographic. There, I was exposed to the other side of racism. I heard racial slurs I had never heard before. I witnessed people who had an unearned hatred for others because of their skin color. I cringed at their overwhelming prejudice.
MLK Jr Day was only an acknowledged holiday for black students in that school system. It struck me as odd. Wasn’t his desire that there would be no disparity between black children and white children? Why segregate us for a holiday that was meant to mark an end to segregation?
I have been accused of not being able to understand what is to struggle because I am a white man. I hate those accusations. I have been stereotyped and racially profiled. I have been on food stamps. I have lived in questionable places. I have felt the fear of not knowing where the next meal or paycheck would come from. I put myself through college because I had to.
Have others had it worse? Sure. Was my trouble light compared to the struggles of others? Yeah. But don’t assume that because I am a white man that I have no culture or perspective. I am a valuable human being and so are you. Jesus died for us both.
I am teaching my children to understand and appreciate the beauty in all of us. I truly believe we are all created in God’s glorious image. In fact, I believe there are many ethnicities, but only one race - the human race. The division is our own construct.
It becomes increasingly difficult to teach these things to our children when we continue to strike Satan’s wedge of racism into the heart of humanity. We should, of course, acknowledge our rich heritages and ethnic cultures. These are a part of who we are. But if we don’t get to a place identifying ourselves and others as human beings, the cycle will continue.
The murders of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd and so many others are horrific and inexcusable. But if we continue to feed the hate, their deaths will be in vain. If we don’t learn from our mistakes, we will only continue to sink into division.
Let us, instead, do what we know is right. Let us train up our children in the way they should go. Let us give them a better world than the one we inherited. Let us take the time to listen and understand one another’s unique perspectives.
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