I ACTUALLY DON’T CARE ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE’S FEELINGS
By: One Petty Christian
Tags: Christianity, Blm, Social Justice, Judgement, White Privilege

I ACTUALLY DON’T CARE ABOUT WHITE PEOPLE’S FEELINGS

I bet that title is pretty jarring, especially considering the fact that I define myself as a Christian, have a number of white friends, and can definitively prove that I’m not racist. So is the title untrue?

Hell no. I meant what I said.

You may be thinking that I’m being divisive and that my position won’t encourage unity.

Good.

I have no interest in unification without reconciliation nor do I care to be arm and arm with my oppressors.

But this isn’t about white people in general (although, in general, white people are still problematic). This conversation is about white people who also define themselves as Christians, particularly those in America, whose expression of Christianity is far more rooted in white American ideals than those of the brown authors and brown savior found in the Bible.

I am here to admit that I judge people all the time. Leave a bad tip in a restaurant? Judged. Use terrible grammar or spelling online or in person? Judged. Don’t find babies falling down hilarious? Judged.

Now, when I judge people, I’m essentially holding them accountable to their own standards. I expect proud Americans to support peaceful protests as covered in the constitution, so if you loathe football players for kneeling during the national anthem, I’m judging you. If you have a problem with Hollywood elites and voted a Hollywood elite into the highest office in the land, I’m judging you. And if you’re a white Christian that doesn’t stand up for the marginalized, I’m judging you.

We all have things we care about and are passionate about. In the age of social media, many of us share those issues. Look at my Facebook page long enough and you’ll see that I’m often easily amused, often angry, and often trying to inspire people.

To be fair, before I continue, not everyone uses these platforms the same. And for those that don’t, I don’t judge them.

I have this white Christian friend who’s been sharing many articles detailing the atrocities afflicted onto Israel. From what I gather, she cares about the Jewish people of Israel. Which is fine. I want her to care.

What she has displayed is her ability to get the word out that a group of people are suffering and something needs to be done.

But if I can be frank, which I can because this is my blog, I find this problematic as hell.

We have many people suffering in our own country, be it black people at the hands of police and other legal systems of oppression or Hispanic people being separated from their families and mistreated while in custody. And I won’t even touch on how this country still treats its original inhabitants.

But you know what frequents her feed? Israel this and Israel that. I’m not going to pretend that I’m not bothered by it. It’s not that I have a problem with her illuminating the issues they’re facing (although I haven’t heard any information from the other side so I can’t make a fair judgement call). I have a problem with her not showing that same care for all these dead black and brown bodies at the hands of the police officers who made oaths to protect the people they have killed. I have a problem with her not showing that same care for the Hispanic kids in custody, some of which have died under the care of this administration.

I only single her out because of the frequency of which she highlights Israel’s problems. But she, like many of my white Christian friends share a guilt. Something that baffles me and also makes my blood boil.

Why are my white Christian friends so silent on America’s injustices, and specifically concerning marginalized groups?

My white heathen and godless friends show that they care. In that, I’m reminded of the nature of God. A desire to right wrongs. A desire to elevate those that are left low in the dirt. A desire to show a love that is seen and evident.

So why don’t I see that in my white Christian friends, who by nature of being Christians should also display this behavior?

So now I’ve gotten to the point that I’m regularly calling out white people and white Christians for this behavior.

I don’t care about their white feelings nor their white tears.

I don’t believe they care and this lack of belief is rooted in scripture.

Matthew 12:34b: For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.

Matthew 7:16–20: Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them.

I find myself being far more inspired by my non Christian friends than my Christian friends, and I find this troubling. Oddly enough, it’s inspired me to be a better Christian. It’s forced me to look at what the body of Christ is doing vs what it should be doing. It’s forced me to do research to see what I can do beyond sharing posts on social media. What can I do actively in the real world? What impact, big or small, can I have if I take just one step out of my comfort zone? What would happen if I set aside the reality that by nature of birth, I’m at a disadvantage and it shouldn’t be up to me to fix the mistakes of my and my ancestors’ oppressors, and just do what I can to bring restoration?

I will continue to call people out while I do this research and take action. I believe every little thing helps. But it cannot be left to those that suffer the consequences of America’s past. It has to come at the sacrifice of white privilege.

Note: My friend has established that she is involved with issues regarding people of color, although she’s still pretty much only sharing stuff about Israel, but I try to take people at their word.