Tall, white, educated, middle-aged male, born in the US, who still happens to have his health.
This opening sentence can stir up a lot of emotions for many people these days… and for good reasons.
If I stop and think about these six attributes, it’s kind of humbling. I played NO ROLE in choosing four (tall, white, American, male) of them. The other two (education and health) were heavily influenced by the environment I was born into and grew up with, (family, peers, community, location, etc.). Some have said it’s like winning the genetic and location lottery.
These attributes were invisible to me in my younger years, so I never thought about them. I never needed to, living in a country where they benefited me. Somewhere in my mid-20’s, (after my frontal cortex was nearly rebuilt from its adolescent mush), I began to see how the world actually works. I can’t recall why, but it seemed these genetic and location attributes gave me a head start on this race we call life. It also seemed that many others start their race without these benefits or advantages, (or as many have said, privileges).
If I am honest with myself it doesn’t take long to see who benefits when reading through US history. From the origin of our nation my demographic has held most of the power. This power offered the advantage or privilege of creating most of our nation’s institutions, laws, and systems. In most cases, these institutions, laws, and systems ended up benefiting those in power. Nice power circle, eh?
I want to talk to you about the concept of corporate evil or systemic evil and injustice. I’ll start off by saying Western people in general, and white Americans in particular, have little or no concept of corporate evil or they are actively set against the idea.
I take these privileges for granted way more often than I care to admit. When that happens it becomes more difficult to see, let alone understand a viewpoint outside of my demographic. Unless I make a daily practice of intentional awareness my preconceived bias can take over. But in clearer moments, I see these privileges for what they are. I get opportunities, experiences, and simple pleasures that may not be available for many minority groups. If they are available, extra efforts (sometimes herculean) are often needed for them to achieve the same outcomes that come easier for me.
So, how can a bunch of white guys like me become more aware so we can be a part of the needed change for equality?
Open eyes. Open ears. Open mind.
Pushing past our bias and gaining awareness doesn’t happen all at once. But making intentional efforts to see, listen, and think about the world we all live in seems like a good place to start.
America Burns.
A moment of awareness happened recently for me when a friend shared an article entitled “America Burns, What Now?“. It focused on the current events centered around the murder of George Floyd. This mainstream evangelical author is a middle-aged, white guy, (who I’m assuming is doing all he can to practice the way of Jesus). I was curious to read his take, being a post-evangelical, middle-aged, white guy, trying to practice the way of Jesus as well.
The author begins with a list of disruptions that occurred after the 8:46 video exploded across the internet on May 25th.
- Anarchy reigns in many cities.
- Peaceful and justifiable protests erupted into violence. Radical groups intent on inflicting pain and destruction have seized the opportunity.
- Seattle officials handed over a six-block section of their city, including a police precinct, to armed radicals. These radicals are publicly recruiting allies with firearms to help guard their perimeter.
- A UCLA professor may lose his job for refusing to allow students of color to delay taking an exam, a decision his supervisor suggested.
- An L.A. Galaxy soccer player was fired because of a social post made by his wife.
- Historical statues are being destroyed as our history is rewritten into the mold of the radicals. Their actions remind me of ISIS.
I could spend time unpacking these disruptions – the historical statues for example – which include confederate leaders. (Remember them… they revolted against our country to keep slavery legal). But I would rather focus on the bigger picture.
Binary, black and white answers are rarely answers.
FIRST, I hope we can agree that “either/or” answers are seldom helpful or true, (even though cable news would like us to think they are). In most cases, the shades of grey are many and solutions end up being more “both/and”.
SECOND, I hope we can also agree that violence, or the destruction of property, should not be condoned either. Retributive violence is never the path forward to restoring relationships. Whether individuals, tribes, or nations, violence against the other is not a healing ingredient.
That said, I can see why an explosion of anger, descending into violence, is happening.
Read through those six items again. Is it possible that item #2 resonates more with black communities and other minority populations – people who don’t have access to the same advantages I take for granted? Is it also possible that items #1, 3-6 resonate more with white communities – people who have benefited from generations of advantage or privilege, (most of the time unaware of it)?
There is a very powerful idea circulating online about the lens each of us looks through. From my own privileged white experience I can come up with this conclusion…
It’s terrible racism is happening, BUT the violence, destruction and people losing their jobs needs to end.
However, when I listen to personal stories from black communities, I hear something else. After 400 years of enduring second class treatment – generation after generation – I hear that statement flipped…
It’s terrible that violence, destruction and people losing their jobs is happening, BUT racism needs to end.
What Now?
For those of us trying to follow the way of Jesus, the author offers his perspective on how we can all move forward. His framework comes from a moment in ancient Jewish history, recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. A quick history lesson is needed to give context… so stay with me.
The Babylonian exile of Jerusalem
In 597 BC the Babylonian empire destroyed the Kingdom of Judah and its capital Jerusalem, then carted off most of it’s people back to Babylon, (modern-day Iraq), leaving behind a much smaller population. About 60 years later the Persians (modern-day Iran) overpowered Babylon to claim the empire label in 539 BC. With the sudden power change, the new Persian King offered these exiled Jews a huge gift, giving them the chance to “Return to Zion”. Over the next 100 years, several waves of refugees set off for their homeland to join those already there. But the Jewish returnees are pretty messed up from their exile experience and can’t get it together to reconstruct their communities. The rebuilding of the security wall around Jerusalem especially suffers, leaving them vulnerable to neighboring bullies.
Nehemiah’s prayer
This is where Nehemiah, a Jewish leader still working in the Persian government, enters the story. He hears about the grim conditions of his people and his native land. The sadness drives him to his knees in prayer to God, which is the focus of this article.
Nehemiah mentions these three items in his prayer:
- In his grief, he mourned, fasted from food, and prayed for God’s mercy on his people back in Jerusalem.
- In his conscience, he confessed HIS sins AND the sins of the previous GENERATIONS before him.
- In his hope, he believed God would hear his prayer and give success to his request from the king to join his people in Jerusalem.
As a stumbling apprentice to Jesus, I appreciate this prayer of humility, repentance, and hope – qualities that I wish I had more of. I’ve heard teachings on this passage before, but this time two items jumped out that I have never considered. Most likely because I’m trying to apply an “underdog approach to reading the bible” more these days.
A minority group forcibly relocated to a foreign land
The first item noticed was the status of the Jewish people. They were a minority group in the empire of the time. After witnessing the destruction of their country, they were forcibly relocated to the distant land of Babylon. When the Persians overthrew the Babylonian empire, new laws emerged from a new king. This Jewish minority group is then granted more rights and freedoms than before under the previous “administration”. With their newfound freedom, several waves of the exiled return to their homeland to rebuild. However, the returnees seem to have PTSD from their collective painful experience and struggle to move forward with any real progress.
The story goes on to highlight how Nehemiah arrived to encourage and inspire them to repair the wall, even as the enemies of Jerusalem conspired to stop them. But I have to wonder what other variables were hindering the wall repair before Nehemiah’s return.
The legacy of trauma
There has been “an emerging line of research exploring how historical and cultural traumas affect survivors’ children for generations to come”, called “The legacy of trauma“. Here are several excerpts from an American Psychological Association article that may relate to this remnant of ancient Hebrews, as well as any minority group who encounters injustice at the hands of those holding power over them:
“The work is part of an emerging line of research and clinical work in psychology and related disciplines that is exploring whether and how mass cultural and historical traumas affect future generations. Bezo’s observations are compatible with those of researchers who are exploring the intergenerational effects of the Holocaust, the Khmer Rouge killings in Cambodia, the Rwandan genocide, the displacement of American Indians and the enslavement of African-Americans. The transgenerational effects are not only psychological, but familial, social, cultural, neurobiological and possibly even genetic as well, the researchers say.”
“Massive traumas like these affect people and societies in multidimensional ways,” says Danieli, who is also the founder of the International Center for the Study, Prevention and Treatment of Multigenerational Legacies of Trauma. “It behooves us to study this area as widely as possible, so we can learn from people’s suffering and how to prevent it for future generations.”
A current example, she says, is the dread that many African-American parents face in talking with sons about potential police encounters. “It’s traumatizing for parents and it’s traumatizing for kids,” she says.
The scenario is part of a legacy that she terms “shared stress”—the feeling that you have to manage everything within your own community because you don’t know what you’ll encounter in society at large.
As previously mentioned, there are very few binary answers to complex problems. I can’t speak to why the Jewish remnant were failing to rebuild their security wall. But this new line of generational trauma research might be shedding light on part of the reason. It had to be devasting to be marched out of their burning city to a land they did not know. The book of Psalms honestly captures the full slate of human emotions, including anger toward ones enemy. Psalm 137 details the violent hatred for their abductors, ending with them blessing anyone who does to Babylon what it did to them.
And you, Babylonians—ravagers!
A reward to whoever gets back at you
for all you’ve done to us;
Yes, a reward to the one who grabs your babies
and smashes their heads on the rocks!~ Psalm 137:8-9
Similiar to the way Jewish communities have been treated throughout history, it also makes sense that generational trauma unleashed on communities of color may be impacting how this current generation experiences the world. As the article mentioned, there are conversations that minority families need to have that I never even consider with my kids – especially discussions on how to deal with police encounters.
I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father’s family, have committed against you.
The sins of previous generations
A second item noticed is Nehemiah’s confession of sin – both his sin AND the sins of his fathers, or the generations that came before him. He doesn’t mention his sin, so I can’t speak to that. But there was plenty to confess from previous generations. If you spend any time reading Old Testament prophets you hear two perspectives – afflicting the comfortable and comforting the afflicted. Time and again, they accuse the people of replacing their true God with the idols of money and power while causing injustice to those with no power. The prophet Isaiah, who lived 100 years before the exile, opens with this indictment against the people of Jerusalem.
See how the faithful city
has become a prostitute!
She once was full of justice;
righteousness used to dwell in her—
but now murderers!
Your silver has become dross,
your choice wine is diluted with water.
Your rulers are rebels,
partners with thieves;
they all love bribes
and chase after gifts.
They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;
the widow’s case does not come before them.~ Isaiah 1:21-23
Frankly, this is a timeless accusation that could be pronounced on any empire throughout history, including the US. When it comes to the big sins, (e.g. slavery, Jim Crow laws, redlining, etc.), of past generations it can be easy to not care, because it’s not my fault. I wasn’t around to condone or condemn what was happening. But then I need to remember that I have the privilege of “not caring”, since it hasn’t affected my tribe.
But, as mentioned earlier, I’m trying to become more aware of systems that quietly oppress or discriminate against communities of color, while they quietly benefit me. Tim Keller’s 26-minute lecture below does a great job of unpacking a white guy’s perspective on systemic evil. Here’s an excerpt from the video below:
Systemic Evil
Let’s talk then about systemic evil. Here’s what I mean by systemic: if you’re part of a community, there are systems that the whole community participates in. Things get done by the system, and you, by participating in the community, are to some degree getting that done, even if there’s levels of responsibility. I’ll give you these levels.
- You might be in the community and know exactly what the system is doing and be happy for it and actually actively doing it.
- Or secondly, you might kind of know what’s happening in the system and you don’t think too much about it, but you’re in favor of it.
- Or number three, you know what’s happening but you don’t do anything to stop it.
- Or number four, you don’t really know what’s happening and you don’t care, and you don’t even care to try to find out about it.
For example, the Holocaust.
- At the top of the system, at the most responsible, you had people who set up the death camps.
- Underneath that, you had guards and people who are in the death camps who were just following orders as they said.
- Underneath that, you had people in the town, civic leaders who kind of knew what was happening there but they didn’t really want to know.
- Then you go down to the citizen, the German citizen who had heard rumors, but didn’t want to know and didn’t do anything about it, and just paid their taxes and worked.
Evil happens when good people do nothing.
So, to wrap up, the least I can do is take the time to educate myself by keeping my eyes, ears and mind open, so I can really hear what communities of color are saying. It may involve watching a documentary, instead of easy buddy-buddy, car chase, explosion movie. It may be reading an article that I would rather scroll over. What it doesn’t mean is staying intentionally ignorant because it “doesn’t affect me”.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”
~ Edmund Burke
Whether I’m just a cog in the wheel or a person of influence, we each have the ability to make the world better for all. The prophet Micah, a contemporary of Isaiah said it best.
He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.
