Saturday, August 12, 2017

You're On the Team, Now

Good evening, all. It's been a while. My bad on that. However, I feel like today is one of those days I need to vent. I'm sure you're aware of what happened today in Charlottesville, Virginia. The hurt that I felt today equated to how I felt about the Virginia Tech shooting. The Virginia Tech shooting happened not far from where I live, same as today's events. Today, I fought back tears as I read the news from those events. It hurt my heart to know that people were so opposed to black people doing relatively decent in things outside of athletics or entertainment that they'd meet around a stupid statue to tell people they're taking the country back.

My biggest issue has been that way too little people are condemning this White Nationalist/Supremacist/Ku Klux Klan. People are just stating that it's an anomaly. People just say that it's from "every side." Every side? Come on, man. Until both sides lynch people for being the opposite color, it will never be a multifaceted thing. There isn't a reason people who claim to have love for their neighbor and their Lord to just call this a one off. It's not a one off. This has been the thought and belief of many people since the 1600s if we're being honest.

I'm not from Virginia. I've lived here for almost 14 years. It's home enough for me. I've met wonderful people here. Some of my best friends live here in Virginia. I met my girlfriend here. I have a church home here that I couldn't leave for almost anything. Virginia is my place. However, sometimes I question this place and how they come up with their thoughts. Being honest, sometimes I their love affair with Antebellum confuses me. I might catch some heat from folks, but it's time to let this stuff go. There is literally nothing that these past relics are doing for us in this day and age.

So, what do I mean by my title? Well, it's simple. If you're not speaking out, condemning, or just angry at this because of the white supremacy foolishness, then you're on their side. It's really that simple. You have to have a stance. You can't look at this and holler "we all bleed the same" or "let's just hold hands like Martin Luther King said" and be free from this. No, your silence is deafening. The trippy thing is that people that I grew up looking up to haven't been terribly vocal about this. People just throw "well Black Lives Matter" or "Black Panthers do bad things too" out there hoping to be exonerated. Sorry, you're on the team now. You're either on the side of love, or you're a White Supremacy sympathizer. There isn't a middle ground, not any more. I'd say there may have never been a middle ground. Let's be clear. I'm not calling you racist. I'm not calling you a bigot. I'm just saying that you have to choose a side. The side of love or the other side. I choose love. The Bible says in 1 John 4:20 that if a man says he loves God and hates his brother, that man is a liar. If you tell me you love the Lord, but don't condemn these hate groups, you don't love. You're fake.

Ladies and gentlemen, and I may be talking to more of my Christian friends, but you're all welcome to join me. It's time to bring love back. Don't immediately jump to the new political strategy of "whataboutism." Whataboutism is when instead of agreeing that something is wrong, immediately say "what about (insert counter group)?" It's time for Christians to condemn hate, show love, and stop thinking this is just a sad episode. It's more than that. White supremacy has been an enemy of me and people like me since the slaves were freed, and even beforehand.

You all know I love you. I want you all to be blessed. I want you all to know that the God I serve does not sign off on this. This is just from my reading of the Word of God. If someone can find in the Bible where this kind of behavior is okay, please show me. If we want to be known as a Christian nation, let's work on loving our neighbors. Let's work on standing up for the marginalized, victimized, and scrutinized. Let's work on being the church that reaches out to those who need help, love, and support. Let's just do things the right way, and let go of the legalism for a minute. Just long enough to show the hate groups that they don't represent our God.

God bless.