Racism or Ignorance? Part 1: Appearance / Culture

I decided to write about this because it is evident that we are living in an era of a heightened global wave  of “The Fear of The Other”, people who don’t look, think, speak or act like we do. I am not writing this to hastily condemn this feeling, I recognize it as a real fear (especially because I have and continue to experience it from time to time) but the premise is shaky, more so for Christians.

I have come to believe that what we commonly term as racism is more of an expression of fear based on ignorance. I have a simple, hypothetical test for pure racism. Most people carry information on their person either on their driver’s license or through some other means about their blood type. To find out who is a true racist, I would propose to ask if a person would be willing to have a sticky permanently glued to that document that reads:

‘In the event of an emergency requiring a blood transfusion, I would only want to receive blood that is confirmed to be from my own race. If the race of the donor blood cannot be ascertained, I am willing to bleed to death. Thank you for your kind understanding of my need to preserve my pure blood till I take my last breath.’

My guess is that most people would not opt for that add-on. But there will be a good number that will, and my second guess is that these would be people who have nothing much to live for. If that be the case, how can someone who is willing to accept a blood transfusion or an organ donation from a member of a race or culture they disparage be truly a racist?

Of the three layers of the organ known as Skin, the melanin pigmentation (a broad term encompassing different types of melanin) that is primarily responsible for skin tone is only found on the outermost layer (epidermis).The remaining two layers (dermis and hypodermis) are identical in all the races. Similarly, the tobacco-scarred lung of a black man looks the same as that of a white man. The true racist must pause to consider that he or she is basing the acceptance of another person on the type and quantity of a chemical compound found on the outermost layer of the skin. When you parse that, it sounds awfully shallow and somewhat silly.

With regards to cultural differences, it is increasingly clear to me that it takes an open mind to be genuinely curious and interested in a culture that one is not familiar with. Most of  us would not readily admit to being narrow-minded because it sounds negative, but our actions prove otherwise. We naturally want to identify with people who think as we do and/or who understand our culture.

So what can help us to be truly broad-minded? Depending on the observer, there are positive and negative traits in every culture; there are things that can be learned and adapted to improve the quality of one’s life and there are things that are best left to those who own the culture. This concept also applies to individual personality traits. Yet one can only imagine how incredibly rich in perspective would be that person who is able to tap as many good ethics and practices as possible from a variety of cultures. I for one, would want to hang around that kind of widely knowledgeable person and drink from their fountain of knowledge !

From a Christian point of view, I have read somewhere that ‘Openness to others is the fruit of openness to God’. I believe that having an open mind begins by consciously asking the Holy Spirit to open one’s mind to discern that someone who is different is a product of God’s handiwork, someone whom God also cherishes as much as I believe myself to be cherished. The Holy Spirit He has put in me is the same Holy Spirit in that person. For me, to see that person as an individual devoid of any type of external group identity or characterization takes Grace. Then I realize that God has made and accepted that person just the way they are, if God can accept them, who am I not to accept them? That person might even be further than I am in their journey of faith and my path could be crossing with theirs because I am to learn something from them or vice versa.

The real question to ask myself is how often have I really desired that Grace to see others as God sees them? It is easier and more convenient to characterize people in groups  or with pre-conceived labels than to make a challenging effort to see or learn about the uniqueness of every person. That takes a willingness to go beyond the superficial, most of us would rather lazily believe the customary hype. How often we have missed out on God’s  specific blessings for our lives because it does not come wrapped in the way we are familiar with. One can only imagine how the inn-keepers felt in Bethlehem 2000 years ago, when they later realized that the ordinary-looking pregnant woman they all turned away was the mother of the Son of God.

I have read that a successful community is one that has achieved unity in diversity. Unity without diversity is only uniformity (with the consequent close-mindedness) while diversity without unity is nothing but chaos. May the Holy Spirit give us the courage to over-ride our prejudice and fears by recognizing, learning about and celebrating the unique differences within our marriages, families, schools, work-places and communities as a whole. May we then be led to tap into each other’s differences and unite to build great institutions and communities that are able to withstand tribulations and trials.

‘In truth, I see that God shows no partiality. Rather in every nation, whoever fears Him and acts uprightly is acceptable to Him’.  Acts 10:34-35

‘The one who eats must not despise the one who abstains, and the one who abstains must not pass judgments on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him.’ Romans 14:3

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