I have been debating with myself all day whether to make this blog or not. Not because I was against it’s sentiment or worried that it would be vacuous, but because I was aware that others were already criticising the issue. But now I realise that just because it has already been said, doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth repeating.
This past week has felt like my heart and soul has been shattered. We live in 2020, almost sixty years after the civil rights movement in America, and yet still racism and discrimination exists, both in the US and here in the UK. When the protests and riots originally started it reminded me of the death of Mark Duggan in 2011 and the riots that followed. Yet here we are again. Still living in a world in which the colour of your skin can be a death sentence.
There are many things that have outraged me, one of them being that there are still many people who are ignorant to the issue. People have been saying ‘well I haven’t seen or experienced racial discrimination myself, so therefore it mustn’t exist’. By the same token I could suggest that the Statue of Liberty doesn’t exist because I have never seen it. Others have said ‘if this were truly an issue, then why has no one done anything about it.’ This argument baffles me because it suggests that inaction on an issue in a political sphere implies that the issue is unimportant. It devalues any kind of future protest, whether legitimate or otherwise. What I don’t understand is that somehow this issue has become political. It should be a common sense issue. We’re all human. No one should be born with less rights than another. Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect.
The thing that has annoyed me most, however, and prompted me to write this, was an image I saw last night and the story behind it. That is the image of the President of the United States holding up a Bible in front of a Church after announcing he wanted military presence on the streets and teargassing peaceful protestors for a photo opportunity. It struck me that in this one image you can clearly see Trump’s true motives, something which I don’t think he has made any intention of hiding. All that matters to him is numbers. Because if he actually opened his Bible rather than holding it closed he would realise that it preaches for love, justice, and compassion. That the Christian faith is rooted in acceptance and is for all people regardless of anything that separates us. This is the same message being held up by the peaceful protestors on their placards which he teargassed.
He believed in this moment that he could weaponize the Bible and an entire faith community against a movement which at it’s very core it should support. He has repeatedly politicised Christianity and faith throughout his presidency. He discusses it when it suits him. When he needs a boost in the polls from his largely Evangelical base he does things like this. I am not going to pretend to know whether or not he actually believes, but his actions would suggest that he doesn’t care.
It is my personal belief that if Christ were here today he would be out on the streets with the peaceful protestors. He would empathise with their experience. He would act with compassion towards them. He would stand alongside them. When I look at the image of Trump holding a Bible I do not see Christ there. I see Christ in the images of law enforcement officers reconciling with and standing in solidarity with protestors. I see Christ in images of white and POC protestors standing side by side. Because Christ did not preach violence. The message of the Bible isn’t about division. As Christians we should stand up against all forms of discrimination because the Bible calls for us to advocate for all.
I may not be able to relate to the experiences of POC. I have grown up in a privileged position because I am white, and I was born into a society and country which favours me for the colour of my skin. But I want to live in a world in which no one person is discriminated against because of the colour of their skin, or their gender, or their sexuality, or their faith, or any other reason. I believe this because I am a Christian. Because it is what the Bible tells us. And because I believe that it should be the goal of all people to strive to make the world better for future generations whatever they believe.
Fay Dragon 