When I was a child being raised Catholic, one of the first things I was taught was the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. As far as fairy tales go, it was decent. For that matter, so were many of the other tales from the Bible including Noah’s Ark, the Tower of Babel, the Birth of Jesus, Lot’s Wife, the Parting of The Red Sea, and Sampson & Delilah. My problem wasn’t with the stories – it was that I was told they were true and that I needed “faith” to believe in them.
I didn’t buy it when I was a child and I certainly don’t buy it now. First, most are literally impossible, Second, I now know many of these stories were simply “Christianized” versions of stories from earlier religions. And finally, umm…science and reasoning.
One thing I hated about the Adam and Eve story was the concept of original sin. I was told that because they took a bite from the forbidden apple, that all of mankind was now guilty. I was taught that Eden was an idyllic world that I was now denied because of something two people did thousands of years earlier. And that it was my responsibility to pay for this sin.
To my 5 year old self, I thought, “That sucks. It’s totally unfair. I didn’t eat the apple.”
I feel the same way about “White Guilt”.
I was never a slave owner. My family in the US, as far as I am aware were not slaveowners. On one side, my great grandfather was a physician who lived in third-world countries where he treated locals. On the other side, my ancestors were Irish immigrants who settled in Eastern Pennsylvania to work in the coal mines and railroads.
And, more importantly, even if my ancestors had been slave owners – I was not.
As a child I lived in an all-white, poverty stricken former coal town, a depressed mixed race suburb and an all black inner city ghetto. As an adult I lived in a midsized city’s Jewish enclave, and mixed race suburbs and cities in PA and FL and NC.
I lived, went to school, played and worked with people of different sexes, races, religions, ethnicities, backgrounds and political beliefs.
Have I benefited from being a white man? Undoubtedly. My interactions with the police have never resulted in anything worse than being hassled. I’ve been hired for jobs where I later realized, I never would have been hired had I been black or gay or Muslim or a woman.
Have I personally discriminated against minorities – no. In fact, I am proud of my record of mentoring, recurring and promoting minorities. My best employees were often people whom others overlooked.
But the point of this essay isn’t to pat myself on the back. The post is that I think it is wrong to judge anyone by the color of their skin.
Race is a fiction that society has made up to discriminate against others. We tie it to ethnicity, birthplace or ancestry to give it a false coat of legitimacy, but it is still an arbitrary divider.
We might as well segment people based on height or eye color.
If our goal is to provide people with more equal opportunities, I suggest we look at income inequality first. Poverty seems to be correlated with lack of opportunity much more than race.
I have a feeling that a lot of people feel the same way I do. Don’t blame us for the sins of our parents, grandparents, great grandparents or ancient ancestors.
Instead, let’s look at each other as individuals and see how we can work together today.