The Current Narrative Around Racism: Cognitive Dissonance, Processing, and The Answer

This has been my stream of thought for the past week or so, causing me some cognitive dissonance:

>Can I say that all lives matter without being called a racist?
>Can a white person say they're not a racist without being one?

I believe that the current narrative around racism says, no. However, I have to reject the negative answer.

Here, I am processing, attempting to break through the dissonance reasonably and Scripturally, to touch on concerns of my neighbors, brothers, and sisters touched by the current crises, and to continue to hope in Christ in the midst of it all.

(Disclaimer: Before you continue reading, know that racism is a real sin against God, Whose image we bear, and against our neighbor, who bears God's image. If you're stuck in this particular sin, this post is not for you. Contact me privately if this is a struggle for you.)

All lives *do matter.
My friend posted a graphic on Facebook recently, depicting Christ on the cross, with the words, "All lives matter.". I agree with her. When we say *all, that includes black lives. But she was accused of being condescending or dismissive. Those are lies, and I felt unjustly condemned along with her.

So, hear me out: Affirming the value of *all life does not diminish human value if one's pigment is darker than mine. I can affirm human value in individuals, as part of a broader community, and in *our global community: the human race. We all retain the image of God. We are all His offspring. We all have value and needs: of love, protection, affirmation and justice.

I do hear the hurt and frustration, anger, and fear among those who have experienced oppression. Those reactions are reasonable. The desire to be heard and seen is understandable. As a woman in an often male-dominated atmosphere, I can empathize. At the same time, it is not silencing to include black people in *all lives. It may not be your agenda, but it doesn't change the fact that God does not have a preference or respect for one people group over another, and that we can value *all because He does. He loved the *world so much that He sent His own Son to redeem us out of every kindred, tongue, tribe and nation. Then He called us out to be His children, part of a new and better creation, brothers and sisters, in the Beloved. Should man-made value judgments be considered superior to His own?

You're not a racist.

What is a racist? Google defines the term this way: rac·ist: a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another. Does this categorically define a whole group? No. I emphatically say, it does not. Rather than making sweeping generalizations and assumptions about groups, listen to and value the individual you know. What are they saying, doing, and how are they interacting with others that communicate love for others, regardless of their cultural or ethnic differences? Why are individuals who affirm the values of all life painted as part of the problem? That is an unfair and inaccurate assumption. And, for the record, generalizing about a person, who is part of a group simply because they are part of that group is a racist behavior. If you're not viewing others as less than yourself and you're not hating your neighbor, seeking their harm and holding them down, based on "race" you're not a racist.
You don't have to buy into the narrative. You can love your neighbor without allowing dysfunction. You can see injustice. You can seek justice for the oppressed. You can validate those who are in pain and distress. You do not have to feel false shame or allow yourself or others to be told who you are, what you think, or what your motives are. That is gaslighting, and you're not crazy. You don't have to speak, think or feel guilt that is not your own.

My friends, rather than competing, and exchanging pain for pain, can we focus on active one-antohering instead? The problems of the past, whether 200 years ago, or yesterday, can be laid to rest in the grave with all of our sins if we stop choosing to resurrect them, attributing that old hate, fear and animosity to the present and to situations and people that have nothing to do with the felt angst.
And, yes. Jesus is still the answer. Keep preaching the Gospel to yourself and others daily. Nothing could be more relevant. He sees the current state of things and He's present in our fears and frustrations. He has lived and died for us and He is interceding for us now. He hasn't forgotten us and He is still working redemptively in His ministry of reconciliation. Let that motivate your love for Him and others, as He continues His work in every kindred, tongue tribe, and nation.