Prejudice and Racism
What's your experience with prejudice?
Growing up as a white upper-middle class American, I haven't had too much personal experience with prejudice, but recently I got a closer glimpse - not directed at me, but at my friend.
We were sitting in our favorite café when an older gentleman walked in. We smiled and said "bonjour," as is customary in this culture; he didn't actually respond. Instead, he mumbled a bit, seemingly to himself, but loud enough that we could hear him clearly.
"I don't like seeing those girls faces with those veils," he murmured.
I was a bit shocked. My friend, to whom he was referring, simply averted her eyes.
I was saddened and wasn't even sure what to do. As we talked about it, my friend said that, had the man been closer to our age, she likely would have calmly said something in return, but seeing that he was an elderly man, she chose to respect the elder and let it pass.
You see, in France, there is not a divide between blacks and whites, as is the case in the United States. In France, the division is between "French" and Muslims - even if the Muslims are just as much French as any other.
My dear friend went on to describe a moment where a woman passed her on the street and began calling her terrible names. My friend simply smiled and kept walking. A while later, the same woman joined her at the local park where my friend was playing with her nephew and continued to verbally attack her. "Go back to your country!" the woman yelled. "We work hard here; we don't want to just pay for you to live a comfortable life of leisure." At this point my friend calmly responded. "You don't know me," she said, "just like I don't know you. I was born in France, and I will continue to live in France; this is my country." As the conversation continued, the woman calmed.
Unfortunately, this is a common experience for my friend and others of her religion.
Why is it that we think ourselves better than others? Why is it that we make assumptions of others without even having had a conversation with them?
What should our response be to prejudice and racism? Should I have kindly commented to the older gentleman, "Oh, my friend is kind, you have nothing to fear"? Or was it best to keep my mouth closed?
This interaction took place several weeks ago, but the experience has stayed with me.
While there are more Muslims in France (10% of the population) than Christians (less than 1%), I, as a Christian, am not pointed at and mocked because of my beliefs. Because my faith does not require me to dress differently or eat differently than those around me, I can hide amongst the crowd if I want.
But I pray that the way I live my faith would be as overt as those who show their faith by their clothing.
I hope that the way I interact with others would cause people to pause and wonder Who I serve.
I hope that I would be slow to speak and quick to listen, abounding in love for those around me - regardless of their background or religion.
And then I hope that I would be so bold as to share the Hope of the One who shows no partiality.
Growing up as a white upper-middle class American, I haven't had too much personal experience with prejudice, but recently I got a closer glimpse - not directed at me, but at my friend.
We were sitting in our favorite café when an older gentleman walked in. We smiled and said "bonjour," as is customary in this culture; he didn't actually respond. Instead, he mumbled a bit, seemingly to himself, but loud enough that we could hear him clearly.
"I don't like seeing those girls faces with those veils," he murmured.
I was a bit shocked. My friend, to whom he was referring, simply averted her eyes.
I was saddened and wasn't even sure what to do. As we talked about it, my friend said that, had the man been closer to our age, she likely would have calmly said something in return, but seeing that he was an elderly man, she chose to respect the elder and let it pass.
You see, in France, there is not a divide between blacks and whites, as is the case in the United States. In France, the division is between "French" and Muslims - even if the Muslims are just as much French as any other.
My dear friend went on to describe a moment where a woman passed her on the street and began calling her terrible names. My friend simply smiled and kept walking. A while later, the same woman joined her at the local park where my friend was playing with her nephew and continued to verbally attack her. "Go back to your country!" the woman yelled. "We work hard here; we don't want to just pay for you to live a comfortable life of leisure." At this point my friend calmly responded. "You don't know me," she said, "just like I don't know you. I was born in France, and I will continue to live in France; this is my country." As the conversation continued, the woman calmed.Unfortunately, this is a common experience for my friend and others of her religion.
Why is it that we think ourselves better than others? Why is it that we make assumptions of others without even having had a conversation with them?
What should our response be to prejudice and racism? Should I have kindly commented to the older gentleman, "Oh, my friend is kind, you have nothing to fear"? Or was it best to keep my mouth closed?
This interaction took place several weeks ago, but the experience has stayed with me.
While there are more Muslims in France (10% of the population) than Christians (less than 1%), I, as a Christian, am not pointed at and mocked because of my beliefs. Because my faith does not require me to dress differently or eat differently than those around me, I can hide amongst the crowd if I want.
But I pray that the way I live my faith would be as overt as those who show their faith by their clothing.
I hope that the way I interact with others would cause people to pause and wonder Who I serve.
I hope that I would be slow to speak and quick to listen, abounding in love for those around me - regardless of their background or religion.
And then I hope that I would be so bold as to share the Hope of the One who shows no partiality.
This, I believe, is one of the cries of the soul since human kind began --- to not be judged due to others fears and pride. The battle rages on! Watching the TV series "Centennial" about the Colorado Territory being settled and the awful Sand Creek Massacre (not far from where we live). It still shows me that the human heart has had this horror for a long time in many generations, including the current one. The deceit that we can entertain is that the world should be different now. Shocking that we can still see, hear and read about verifiable accounts of the human suffering from the civil war and holocaust in this generation but still choose the same path. But I do know this, that grace can abound where we can engage in the battle for both; the elder mans fears and pride and the veiled womans' pain from others hate and disrespect. Takes courage (which Kate and Jordan have) to try to look beneath and understand both and expose the only One that can identify with that same suffering and came to take it away forever !!!!
ReplyDeleteAmen, Jennie! It's true that through these stories we can see the cycle of sin in our lives from the beginning of time. Sin will be here until Christ establishes His new Heaven and New Earth. Until then, we can only seek to share His grace with others.
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