Think Impact, Not Intentions
“The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.””
Matthew 12:37 NLT
“Typically, many white people search for the one black person who holds the same positions and perspectives as they do, and then prop that person up as verification of their own beliefs. Taking a riskier and more teachable posture—allowing an entire community to speak into their lives—would ultimately result in changing their operating definitions.”
— Drew Hart in The Trouble I've Seen
I have been blessed to be part of movements and institutions that seek peace and the wholeness of all. I was born in the height of the civil rights movement and remember the toil and sacrifices that were made by so many, to achieve opportunities to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. From my perspective, the civil rights movement is the most patriotic movement of all time as it sacrificially demanded fulfillment of the American creed, that was written in the founding of the nation, but never fulfilled for many.
I was recently reading an article on advocating for justice that was pointing out the difference in impact versus intention when it comes to commenting on issues of justice. Often, an act of injustice is fanned into flame by a well-intentioned, but devastingly impactful response. Often when I am speaking about issues of racism, sexism, xenophobia, privilege, and ethnic supremacy, people deflect from the act or thoughts of injustice, to the perceived intention of the offender. In this case, some will see the racist throwing rocks and will say things like "He was just exercising his right" or "He is simply protecting what he feels is being threatened". All things that may very well be true, but the idea is that we are no longer understanding the impact of his violence and hate, and now considering his possible intentions, typically through our favored ideological lens.
The issue, as a person who has experienced significant wounds and stand with people who are also wounded, is that I cant hear any of your justifications for the wounding actions until you realize the impact of those actions. Do I think that evil is an equal opportunity movement? Absolutely, but pointing out the sinfulness of the victim of sinful violence is a way of avoiding confrontation of the original evil. So, when BLM advocates against documented unjustified violence by Law enforcement against African Americans, the ignorant response to them is "most AA's are killed by other AA". (Most whites are killed by other whites too, but that's more to do with demographics) as it simply seeks to move past the issue to blame the victim. And when, members of known hate-groups with a documented history of violence against African Americans, protest in your home state, calling you or your friends who are African American, vile and cruel names, and you protest mostly peacefully, the response that you want to hear is not how it was "equally your fault" or that there are "fine people" (getting back to their intentions) who are members of the KKK. If you want to help, renounce the hate and the violence. Acknowledge the impact that it has made, regardless of the intentions of the perpetrator.
As a pastor, I counseled a man who would be physically and sexually violent with his wife. She came for attention and when I confronted him, he kept saying "She knows that I love here". He was literally unable and unwilling to talk about the wounds and injuries that devasted his wife. He couldn't deal with the impact.
Unfortunately, reconciliation and healing begins with understanding and owning impact.
I am blessed with many friends who desire to help in issues of justice but go out of their way to justify injustice. One way, that is particularly a pet peeve of mine, is to find a person of color, who agrees with the defender of injustice, and post their thoughts as validation of the evil. So we see videos of African Americans waving confederate flags, African Americans supporting racist movements, African Americans who refinforce every negative stereotype that justifies the injustice. Yet the African American community in general suffers and their voices are slandered as extreme, or self-serving, or lazy, or using the "race-card".
Just stop it. Focus on impact not intention. Focus on using your words, not to justify racism, sexism, and fear based outlooks, but on standing for peace and justice. Focus on using Jesus' lens of love before you post the clever video that shows a black person saying that "slavery was a choice". Understand the impact of slavery, racism, hate, and violence before you try and justify the intentions of the perpetrators of hate.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
May God bless you
Matthew 12:37 NLT
“Typically, many white people search for the one black person who holds the same positions and perspectives as they do, and then prop that person up as verification of their own beliefs. Taking a riskier and more teachable posture—allowing an entire community to speak into their lives—would ultimately result in changing their operating definitions.”
— Drew Hart in The Trouble I've Seen
I have been blessed to be part of movements and institutions that seek peace and the wholeness of all. I was born in the height of the civil rights movement and remember the toil and sacrifices that were made by so many, to achieve opportunities to pursue life, liberty, and happiness. From my perspective, the civil rights movement is the most patriotic movement of all time as it sacrificially demanded fulfillment of the American creed, that was written in the founding of the nation, but never fulfilled for many.
I was recently reading an article on advocating for justice that was pointing out the difference in impact versus intention when it comes to commenting on issues of justice. Often, an act of injustice is fanned into flame by a well-intentioned, but devastingly impactful response. Often when I am speaking about issues of racism, sexism, xenophobia, privilege, and ethnic supremacy, people deflect from the act or thoughts of injustice, to the perceived intention of the offender. In this case, some will see the racist throwing rocks and will say things like "He was just exercising his right" or "He is simply protecting what he feels is being threatened". All things that may very well be true, but the idea is that we are no longer understanding the impact of his violence and hate, and now considering his possible intentions, typically through our favored ideological lens.
The issue, as a person who has experienced significant wounds and stand with people who are also wounded, is that I cant hear any of your justifications for the wounding actions until you realize the impact of those actions. Do I think that evil is an equal opportunity movement? Absolutely, but pointing out the sinfulness of the victim of sinful violence is a way of avoiding confrontation of the original evil. So, when BLM advocates against documented unjustified violence by Law enforcement against African Americans, the ignorant response to them is "most AA's are killed by other AA". (Most whites are killed by other whites too, but that's more to do with demographics) as it simply seeks to move past the issue to blame the victim. And when, members of known hate-groups with a documented history of violence against African Americans, protest in your home state, calling you or your friends who are African American, vile and cruel names, and you protest mostly peacefully, the response that you want to hear is not how it was "equally your fault" or that there are "fine people" (getting back to their intentions) who are members of the KKK. If you want to help, renounce the hate and the violence. Acknowledge the impact that it has made, regardless of the intentions of the perpetrator.
As a pastor, I counseled a man who would be physically and sexually violent with his wife. She came for attention and when I confronted him, he kept saying "She knows that I love here". He was literally unable and unwilling to talk about the wounds and injuries that devasted his wife. He couldn't deal with the impact.
Unfortunately, reconciliation and healing begins with understanding and owning impact.
I am blessed with many friends who desire to help in issues of justice but go out of their way to justify injustice. One way, that is particularly a pet peeve of mine, is to find a person of color, who agrees with the defender of injustice, and post their thoughts as validation of the evil. So we see videos of African Americans waving confederate flags, African Americans supporting racist movements, African Americans who refinforce every negative stereotype that justifies the injustice. Yet the African American community in general suffers and their voices are slandered as extreme, or self-serving, or lazy, or using the "race-card".
Just stop it. Focus on impact not intention. Focus on using your words, not to justify racism, sexism, and fear based outlooks, but on standing for peace and justice. Focus on using Jesus' lens of love before you post the clever video that shows a black person saying that "slavery was a choice". Understand the impact of slavery, racism, hate, and violence before you try and justify the intentions of the perpetrators of hate.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
May God bless you
Thank you, Rev.Traylor
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