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Jesus answered, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great wealth."
– Matthew 19:21-22
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There is one reason for racist behavior that does not get talked about enough.
One reason why so many white people behave in racist ways is not necessarily because they openly hate other races—they may or may not (although they probably have at least some implicit bias). No, the reason for their racist behavior is that they feel those other races have legitimate grievances—this includes grievances against them. Instead of facing up to that responsibility, looking that guilt square in the eye and working to mend those wounds, it is simply easier to turn their backs on that pain and the people behind that pain.
It sounds crazy. It doesn't seem to make logical sense. But one reason we push away people is not because we hate them, it's because we actually love them—but to actually acknowledge that love and then adjust our actions and lifestyle in light of the truths of this love would require far too much. We instead turn away like the young man in the quote from the Gospel of Matthew above. That young man was far too attached to his possessions and his lifestyle. He was not ready for the radical changes in his life that following Jesus would entail.
We all know at a deep level that we are all sisters and brothers to each other. We just know. The Bible tell us. But once we admit that, then we quickly realize that this truth requires drastic changes in our life.
It's easier to blame the victim than do the hard work listening to their pain. Listening to their pain means feeling their pain. This is hard to do not because we hate them but because we don't hate them. Their pain hurts us because we genuinely care about them and feel solidarity with them.
If we really hated them and didn't value their lives, hearing about their pain would not matter. But it hurts us because their pain reminds us of a kinship that we don't want to be reminded of. Their pain reminds us of our common humanity and family relationship to one another. Their pain reminds us that we have responsibilities to each other.
This is probably poor consolation to the black man being assaulted by police officers or the young high school student walking home terrorized by profanities coming from a truck with a Confederate Flag displayed.
You might think that once people recognize that they are doing something wrong that they would stop it. But sometimes it just makes them do it more.
This goes far beyond racism and into other issues of social concern. It's much easier to mock the homeless person or yell at the poor unwed mother than it is to take their concerns seriously. If you blame them for their circumstances, then you can try to rest easy at night. I'm not convinced that we ever really convince ourselves to blame them, but we sure try.
Guilt Management USA
A whole industry has sprung up in America to help people rationalize away their guilt. My uncle once told me this was the driving force behind Rush Limbaugh and so many radio commentators like him.
At a deeper level, the point of Rush is to help listeners feel okay about not giving a damn about their neighbors. The reasoning goes like his: Not only do you not have to care about your neighbor's welfare, but they are in fact better off if you don't. Instead, let the 'free market' take its course, let nature take its course and all shall be well. It's the moral adjustment that has to be made to live in to the neoliberal philosophies of Ayn Rand which drive most of our current politicians.
We know in our bones that this is wrong. This is why we people like Rush, Sean Hannity, the FOX News Network and so many others have been pushing this message over and over and over again for years. It's not natural to believe this way, but people can be pushed (dare I say brainwashed) into believing it if it is the only message they hear.
For a well-to-do white person, listening to Rush can be somewhat comforting. His message can be summarized as: You're okay just as you are, and you don't have to do anything. In a twisted way, I can sort of appreciate that. He helps assuage guilt. It's okay to tell people they are okay as they are, but it's not okay to tell them they have no responsibilities to their fellow sisters and brothers.
