Inc. Team Article for Sept. 23

By Gene Fougner

Lately, I have been thinking about a question. Perhaps it is part of my journey through prejudice and

privilege. Why do we who are gay (or dark skinned or disabled or anything else) need to make others

aware of injustices perpetrated toward us while seeking acceptance. Why can’t we go on with life on

our own terms, gather with our own kind ignoring those who would oppress us? After all, the problems

are not of OUR making. Why must there be a Gay Pride or a Black Lives Matter or a Feminist agenda, etc.

To get specific, I’ve been wondering what those of YOU, in the dominant culture, think of our efforts to

explain the LBGTQIA+ community and racism experiences. Do you get weary of hearing about it even in

church? What do ordinary people of privilege feel when hearing how the dominant culture has hurt

people of color or trans people, etc.? Often I wonder if you in the dominant culture feels attacked or

belittled by rants of minorities. I would understand, if so. None of us created racism, homophobia, or

misogyny, yet could the burden of privilege be to bear the blame? Our participation in prejudice and

privilege is sort of inherited and often invisible.

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Sometimes, I’m thinking there are more of us in little groups working toward equality than there actually

are in the dominant culture we speak to. Is our talk of awareness and becoming “woke” being wasted

on “preaching to the choir”?

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In her book, Waking Up White, Debby Irving quotes Father Boyle, “When we relearn our loveliness, we

begin to foster tenderness for our own human predicament. A spacious and undefended heart finds

room for everything you are and carves out enough space for everyone else.” She goes on, “Sitting right

in front of us are the seeds for our own salvation: each other.” We all need to listen to each others’

stories and provide safe harbor for one another…setting our hearts at peace. Authentic Christians have

a good model for this…Jesus. Perhaps this is an answer to my “why bother” with all this fuss question.

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