Dear denier

I come to you from a position of seeking to be humble, knowing and conceding that I am part of the problem. Not only do I have a problem with you not seeing the problem, but I also have a problem in myself that, in not wanting to be racist, I overcompensate by trying too hard, which is its own kind of racism. I admit, I’m not where I want to be. I come to you openhanded and openhearted, seeking that we would come to dialogue over what we probably both disagree about: that is that I think that racism is a great example of the most important matter of our time, and of all time, and that is justice for minorities so there can be justice for all.

As a world I’m not sure if we’ve ever been so visibly divided before. And division cannot be as poignant or fractious as the divide between cultures and races. I hear you saying, “there is no such divide in my heart.” But the statistics beg to differ. The statistics will tell us that there is a deep trench of racism within the majority of caucasians, and we can only expect that there will be a similar mistrust in those of colour, because of the discerned racism that caucasians bear.

From one such Australian report[1] itself:

“New analysis which found that three in four people hold negative views of Indigenous Australians is ‘shocking, but not surprising,’ researchers say.

Key points:

· ANU researchers analysed responses from over 11,000 people since 2009

· The data shows an implicit negative bias towards Indigenous Australians “is not imagined”

· Ethnicity, education, religion, occupation and gender appear to have little impact on people’s implicit bias

Studying data collected over 10 years from over 11,000 people, academics at the Australian National University (ANU) found there was a ‘negative implicit or unconscious bias against Indigenous Australians across the board … which is likely the cause of the racism that many First Australians experience’.

The data was collected online through the Implicit Association Test — a joint initiative created by Harvard, Yale and the University of Sydney.

The test determined people’s implicit bias by measuring how quickly participants matched positive words like joy and love, and negative words like nasty and hurt, with images of Indigenous and Caucasian Australians.

The test found that, overwhelmingly, people held a racial bias against Indigenous Australians.”

How are you feeling now? Pfft? I know when I raise a study, you will find a study to refute it. It’s just the way we argue about science. But if only we are truthful, we can improve things. If only we can admit that there is a race bias in us, we can train ourselves to check ourselves in order that we repent of our bias in the moment it arises; just being aware of it is a miracle of God in a person. Or, would you say that you bear no such biases? Would you deny the psychology that finds our humanity wanting? Would you have the gall to say biases don’t exist in you? Would you put yourself above it? Can you not see that those of us who are in the Black Lives Matter camp find such a phenomenon quite the classic response of supremacy — do you think you’re better than other humans? That you don’t have biases, including racial prejudices? Or, is it the case that you’re unaware of your implicit biases, yet you subscribe to thinking of yourself as beyond it?

This is a quest for honesty. This whole issue of Black Lives Matter is a test of our honesty; of actual inner awareness.

Let’s make some parallels for honesty’s sake.

For me, being a very heterosexual man, I see a pretty woman and I notice a pretty woman; I notice a woman’s appearance; every woman it seems. It doesn’t matter that I’m married. I notice because a woman is inherently different to me. I notice the pretty woman because she is pretty. And I work with a lot of pretty women. It’s up to me what I do with that. It’s not the fault of an attractive woman that I am attracted to her. And it’s not something for me to be ashamed about. But it is something for me to own; to take responsibility for, and to ensure that I am fully aware of this as I work with each one, to all of them, and to not betray the relationship with some dishonourable attitudes and behaviours that seek to make more of the relationship than what God designed for it. As a matter of process, I check in with myself very often before God.

It’s the same, for me, when I interact with a gay man. I immediately notice my bias. My God tells me to. Given my culture and upbringing, my bias has a lot of baggage to get over in terms of people with what I might call a complicated sexuality — gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, intersex, +. Even to suggest the word ‘complicated’ is enough to suggest bias. Yet, God says it’s my responsibility to become aware of my biases and to own them. I can’t hide under some rock of bigotry any longer, and you may scoff at that, and say, “Hey buddy, I’m not a bigot,” but the fact is, if we have biases that are unchecked, we do harbour bigotry — always from a place of superiority. We can’t DO ANYTHING to serve the gay person before us if we aren’t first honest about what we are lacking. Can you see this? Or, do you come back with, “Of course, I treat them no differently!” when we both know that you do have a big problem with ‘that lifestyle’?

It’s the same with race. We notice our physical differences. If only we could be honest, we might not only acknowledge the biases we’ve got (seeing how far from God’s ideal we are), but we might also notice the prevalence of biases in others, and how very prevalent racism is in too many of our interpersonal contexts. I know in an Australian context, I hear it regularly, and it always bothers me, yet I haven’t always had the courage to speak up. These days I do, however. Do you see them? Can you see them when they arise? Don’t you have a problem with these too? Can’t you see these biases inherent in us and our society?

Racism is everywhere, very implicitly, under the radar. And it is incumbent on us to do all we can to change the status quo. The first step in this is to become aware of our implicit bias, amongst the range of other biases we have in simply being human. If we believe in God, and we follow Jesus, it’s a matter of course to be committed to the truth about ourselves, about where we miss the mark, acknowledging that it’s only in repentance that we and our indigenous/black brothers and sisters stand a chance to relate fairly with each other so that race is no longer an issue, as far as it depends on us.

I’m really hoping something here has challenged you, as we collectively seek to commit to living out the Kingdom on this earth whilst we are alive. Also, will you help me when I overcompensate? But please, I beg you, please see WHY I overcompensate.

I trust that you are challenged sufficiently enough to go on your own journey of discovery about the realities of racism. It’s there. It’s real. It cannot be denied.

Thank you for reading.