According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary ignorance is: the state or fact of being ignorant: lack of knowledge, education, or awareness. Synonyms of the word include other words such as: cluelessness, in-cognizance, innocence, obliviousness, unawareness, or unfamiliarity.

Ignorance is not bliss when…it can no longer be defined as ignorance.

A Life Starting at Love

Let me stress the importance of the literal definition of a word. Understanding the definition and origin of a word is incredibly important. While they are derived from the same root word involving a person’s lack of knowledge, “to ignore” something is not ignorance. Ignorance is not an action, it is as listed above, a state or fact of being innocent, unaware, uneducated. However, ignoring or to “ignore“ is to refuse to take notice of; to reject as ungrounded. Those synonyms are bypass, disregard, forget, neglect, overlook, slight or slur (over).

Ignorance is not bliss when…educated & aware people choose to ignore reality.

StartingAtLove.com

While racism exists all across the globe and certainly stretches beyond what I am going to discuss here, I don’t live across the globe. I live in America. A place where the racial injustices against black people at the hands of white people still continue today at an alarming and unsettling rate. Unless you have never lived near another human being, you cannot claim ignorance or innocence on this very real topic of the racial divide between “black” and “white” people that existed and that still exists today.

Among all of the “ism’s” — classism, ageism, sexism, and nationalism to name a few — racism is by far one of the most talked about, the most dismissed, and the most infuriating injustices. After everything I have seen, heard, and read within the last week in relation to the heart-wrenching, deplorable murder of Ahmaud Arbery, the faults within America’s legal system, and more personally, the way ALL Americans respond to continued stories like this, need to be confronted.

As I stared at Facebook’s “what’s on your mind?” status update all week, the decision to share someone else’s article or words of support on this topic to my friends just won’t do. My hope here is to use my voice here in my blog as a white female and a woman of faith in the only way I know how to, and express my sorrow as well as awareness of these injustices.

One of my closest friends here in New England is a collegiate track & field coach. She checks in on me. She makes me laugh. She discusses deep topics with me. She jogs frequently. She is black. When I saw her post on Instagram of a photo going around that said “exercising while black should not be a death sentence,” raising awareness of Ahmaud’s story, I had few words that would rightly express something I cannot even begin to fathom.

Personally, I fear running because I dislike cardio work-outs, and also because I am a woman that is genuinely concerned about my safety when exercising alone. If you don’t know me well, my parents raised me with a “healthy” fear of ALL people and the potential risk of abduction (all humor aside, also a very real issue). It would not have ever crossed my mind that my friend would need to be careful running because of the color of her skin. She shouldn’t need to be. No one should. Not here in the land of the free and the home of the brave. It’s infuriating. Yet stories like Ahmaud’s happen every day. Why?

Ignorance is not bliss when…it is apathy.

A Life Starting at Love

Apathy is defined as a lack of feeling or emotion; lack of interest or concern. As a believer in a very real and relational God (Father/Son/Holy Spirit) and having received a psychology degree, when I see the definition for apathy, all I see are red-flags. Concern for spiritual health and mental well-being. A heart issue. A soul issue. Christianity is not supposed to be an apathetic faith. It is a relational, spiritual, active faith. Anyone professing faith in the gospel should be known by their love (John 13:31-35).

My faith impacts every aspect of my life; my spirituality isn’t some religious practice resulting in no growth. It is a belief that we are relational beings designed for relationship with God through Jesus, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and with others. ALL others. Because each person on this planet was made in the image of God for God. All together, uniquely revealing the beauty of our Heavenly Father.

So especially as a follower of Jesus, if the topic of racism has you apathetic, it may be time to consult your soul with some close, trusted friends. It’s time we all begin discussing how to move out of apathy, out of a feeling of helplessness, and into a place of action or support for those in our community and direct sphere of influence. If you don’t have trusted friends of other backgrounds, then perhaps taking a course in cultural competency would be a good way to spend additional quarantine time. Ultimately, you and I can and must begin to do the hard work of addressing any racist attitudes or stereotypes we believe about any one specific people group. Identify where it comes from, take responsibility for the way you are living your life, allow for God’s mercy and grace to renew your thoughts and attitudes, and begin to work towards healthy communication and advocacy.

Apathy concerning race (and faith) is a reality for ALL of us to confront and address today.

StartingAtLove.com

Though I’ve experienced discrimination more times than I care to count, I will never understand the weight of what my sisters and brothers who are not white carry daily in America. And regretfully, I’ve likely at times added to that weight. I am aware that just because you or I have friends of other races, it does not make us immune to racism or racist thoughts and attitudes that can and do impact our daily interactions. Those thoughts and attitudes are weaved deep into the fabric of each individual and have generational implications still working their way out even after we become aware of something. The point is that we are all aware. White people, we cannot claim ignorance is bliss, we are not innocent. We can remain apathetic, we can choose to ignore, or we can put love into action and stand against the continued racial injustices of our fellow humans.

“Obedience is our responsibility and the outcome is the Lord’s” -D.L. Hughes

A Life Starting at Love

To all the women and men in my life that aren’t white, who have been willing to accept me as I am, laugh and talk with me (with mercy and grace) and discuss race in ways that have allowed me to trust and grow more over the past twenty years, thank you. You have each helped me move beyond the sea of white I was raised among. While this blog might not be much, it’s what God put in my hands to steward today.