Tuesday, March 31, 2009

sign of the times


i have an obsession with facebook. if you don't know what that is, it's one of the bigger social networking sites. i was looking over different people's status updates yesterday, and i read this one from tim wise:

"a bunch of rich white men basically destroy the world economy with hedge fund schemes, derivatives, credit default swaps and other assorted speculative investments, costing folks literally trillions in lost wealth, and yet most white people will no doubt still be more afraid of black men in hoodies than white men in suits and ties...wake the f%$k up!!! "

tim wise is an expert on white privilege and racism. julie & i saw him speak last year here in nashville on his book "white like me". i like this quote from tim, simply because it makes a great point. as a society, we are more concerned with the person in dark skin wearing baggy pants than the white guy in a suit stealing our stuff. the white guy can get away with his crimes because white privilege. i don't like this. it's an indicator that we take more value in someone's skin color than their actions.

the next time you are in a mall, or just out in public, i challenge you to check the thoughts and stereotypes that run through your head & heart when you see an african-american, asian-american, a latino or hispanic. do you automatically assume things about them only because of their skin color? that's an element of racism. work on eliminating those thoughts, and work to truely see them as christ does...for who they are inside.

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