Just who was Jesus?
It’s a question that commands a lot of
attention, and engenders a whole lot of heated debate. While I have read scholarly books on
the topic, I rather like a comedic set of arguments that attempts to define
Jesus in terms of racial stereotypes.
It does not matter whether you believe in Jesus or not, these sometimes irreverent arguments challenge us to see an image of divinity in
all people, and to acknowledge, respect and cherish the innate dignity of
others.
Quoting from these anonymous
arguments, Jesus was black because he called everyone brother; he liked Gospel;
and, he couldn’t get a fair trial. But, there are three equally good arguments
that he was aboriginal: he was at peace with nature; he ate a lot fish; and, he
talked about the Great Spirit. Then again, there are three equally good
arguments that he was Italian: he talked with his hands; he had wine with his
meals; and, he used olive oil.
Racism in sport
Two recent incidents of racism in
sport - the offensive comments of
Los Angeles Clipper’s owner, Donald Sterling, against blacks, and an alarming
number of racist tweets against PK Sabban of the Montreal Canadiens following
his overtime goal against the Boston Bruins - provide striking examples of the
inability of some people to accept others who differ from themselves.
While these incidents have
sparked discussion about the prevalence of racism in pro-sports, and have drawn
attention to racism in the NCAA, which Billy Hawkins, professor of kinesiology
at the University of Georgia, dubs the “new plantation”, racism is definitely
not limited to the sporting arena.
and in Canadian history
Consider the legacy of Indian
residential schools in Canada.
The very creation of the residential school system was an expression of
the concept ‘the white man’s burden’, which held that the white man was a
superior being responsible for the management of non-whites. All too
frequently, this attitude of racial superiority resulted in terrible abuses to
First Nations children as we are learning from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission,
which wrapped up four years of hearings in late April of this year.
Racism perpetuates itself
None of us are born with racist
views. We learn them, whether at home, in our social circles or elsewhere in
our culture.
As an adolescent growing up in
the late 1960’s, I had an early lesson in the perpetuation of racism that made
racism much more real to me than the violent images on television coming out of
the southern United States.
My older sisters were members of
“Up with People”, a movement of young people that promoted racial equality
through music. Our hometown was
pretty much white, and when a visiting choir from the States came to perform, some
families were reluctant to billet the black teens, which was strangely ironic.
My mother was indignant that race was an issue in placing these kids, and
volunteered to take two black billets.
That night at the supper table,
we talked about prejudice, including the prejudice that existed against
Italians, and the derogatory term “wop” that cut deeply, and angered my Italian
father and grandfather, who were both Canadian citizens. We did not talk about
the prejudice against aboriginal people; while Canadians watched the civil
rights movement unfold to the south, the majority of us were oblivious of the destructive
systemic racism in our own country.
That conversation left an
indelible impression on my developing character and sense of morality. The
message that night was clear. People are people. There is no such thing as the
“other”; we are sisters and brothers of one human family.
While my parents used the moment
of welcoming two billets into our home to instill respect for the “other” in
their daughters, I could have learned a very different lesson that night had I
been sitting somewhere else, like in a hockey arena, listening to adults around
me jeer at a skilled NHL player for being black.
So, just who was Jesus? He is any person who is marginalized,
ridiculed or abused.
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