Thursday, July 23, 2020

"Peaceful" protests and the persecution complex

  There is no significant statistical evidence that black people are anymore discriminated against by police, than non-Hispanic whites, at least on a large scale.  Yet, we keep hearing how America is "systematically racist", and how "Whiteness is racist", or some such other absurdity.  Question:  What does racism mean?  It doesn't mean "oppressed", it means discrimination on the basis of certain traits, like race, ethnicity, national origin, skin colour, or the like.
  I know, because I am not exactly pale, that I have been the victim of racist bullying from white people, and from black people.  Whilst I am predominantly white (so is the next to last principal chief of the Cherokee Nation, by the way, the same amount of Indian as Elizabeth Warren claims to be), there definitely was something that people saw in me that, for whatever reason, they decided to pick on me.
  Now, I am not here to debate whether or not Elizabeth Warren is Indian (maybe), but I am here to say that being a member of an ethnic, racial, religious minority, does not make you a victim.  That's not to say that there isn't some discrimination against those people, there certainly is.
  My Muslim friend from Saudi Arabia, let's call him Al (and, for added benefit, here's an earworm, Paul Simon - You Can Call Me Al (Official Video)
Al was asked what it was like to be a Muslim in the United States.  His response was something along the lines of "At least I'm not Catholic".
And that's the root of it.  We assume because Catholics are the largest single religious group (i.e., the US would not have a Christian majority if it wasn't for the fact almost 1/4 of the US population is Catholic, though, there are more Protestants), that they must be free from discrimination.
Really, so the government mandated HSS mandate didn't discriminate against Catholics?
Did this not also discriminate against Catholics? Catholic Removed from Florida State Student Politics Over Black Lives Matter Comments
Madison Catholic Bishop Condemns Destruction of Religious Statues: I Can't Remain Silent
And these are but a few, and all in the United States.  There are some governments that exist because of Anti Catholicism (just about every communist one, for instance)
 I think the problem is a persecution complex.  The problem with BLM is that it has a persecution complex, not that it can actually defend its position.  It's easy to get everyone to agree with you when you use terms like "systemic racism" and "white privilege", not because you actually have an argument, but because it makes you sound smart.  BLM wants to "dismantle the nuclear family" (check the about page on their website, I won't link here, because you don't need to look at that pornography), and believes that they should achieve their goal "by any means necessary", they can say they condemn violence all they want, but those words don't seem like it.  BLM is A TERRORIST GROUP.  And why some people do not seem to understand this is legitimately frustrating to me.
Take Gloria Purvis, for example.  Her radio show was dropped by some radio stations because of her saying this.  Well, the statement itself is fine.  The problem is, is that it's also a manipulative name of what amounts to a Marxist terrorist group.  I don't think she was aware of this fact.  I don't think she meant any harm by it.
That's the problem.  We somehow get offended when people say "All lives matter", but not "Black lives Matter".  As stated before, I can agree with the statement.  The problem, however, is, that Black lives matter BECAUSE All lives matter.  When I say "All", guess what?  It includes black people.
Also, there's been very little talk of reconciliation, and that is one issue I am having.  It's a bit difficult  to have conversations with people who support these causes when they seem to want to believe that I'm automatically a racist because I have a differing opinion.  Y'all, here some wisdom from the Book of Sirach (contrary to the reformers' beliefs, it IS a Book of the Bible).
"If you have opened your mouth against your friend,
    do not worry, for reconciliation is possible;
but as for reviling, arrogance, disclosure of secrets, or a treacherous blow—
    in these cases any friend will flee"-Sirach 22:22 (RSVCE)

Monday, July 20, 2020

No, "White" Jesus statues are not racist

  Okay, so who brought Christianity to the Americas?  Umm, Europeans.  And whilst Europeans vary in skin tone, most could probably be considered white.  Then again, the people calling for the removal (really destruction) of the "White Jesus" statues, probably don't even know how the US Census defines white.  I.E., like this White – A person having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa.".  Don't believe me?  Check here.  About Race.  Anyway, I also think that the people making this statement are not only ignorant of history (like the people that claim Jesus was black, he wasn't and isn't, he's God), but what the word "White" means.  By the way, most visions of Jesus or his mother have him being, basically, whatever ethnicity the people seeing them are.  I.E, Mestizo (a) (Part white, part American Indian) in Mexico, East Asian in Japan, etc.  Also, I'm a little confused about the idea that the statues are "white Jesus", most of the ones I have seen are marble.  You can't really tell a skin tone on a marble statue.  This "White Jesus" phenomenon DOES NOT EXIST.  Very few statues have that have I seen make Jesus look any race, and if they do, yes, he looks white, but not European, Middle Eastern.  And also, I think there may be some ignorance on how Middle Eastern people look.  Some Middle Eastern people do have gray, blue, or green eyes.  Some do have blond, red, or brown hair (though, the first two, whilst existing there, are admittedly rare, but not impossible)  Just as some Europeans, (especially Spanish and Greeks, have dark hair).  There's also some ignorance to this.  Whilst I can't usually tell what "race" (a social concept, not a scientific one) Jesus is in statues, in iconography, I have seen him and his mother depicted as African (especially Ethiopian), Asian, American Indian, and mixed race.  I don't have a problem with ANY of those, just as I don't have a problem with alleged "White" Jesus statues.