On Getting Stuck in an Old Script
Some thoughts on race relations have been percolating for some time. Here is the August newsletter article I wrote for Church of the Good Shepherd, UM:
In the last week one of those national stories that gets blown out of proportion by the relentless 24-hour news cycle caught my eye. You’ve certainly seen or heard it by now – Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University was briefly arrested and charged at his home after exchanging heated words with an officer in the Cambridge, Massachusetts police department. Professor Gates had just returned from a long trip to China and was exhausted, coming down with a bad cold, and generally grumpy, when he arrived at his home to find that his door was jammed. He and the driver who was helping him with his bags worked to dislodge the door. A concerned citizen noticed the activity and thought there might be a break in occurring. The police responded to investigate.
What’s the big deal? Professor Gates is one of the foremost black scholars in the country. The police officer is white. Even after the professor showed identification to prove that he lived in that home, the officer asked him to step outside. Professor Gates lost his temper. The officer lost his temper back. The result was a black man was arrested on his own front porch by a white police officer. The story hit the airwaves; the president weighed in on the matter (using words that were, at the very least, ill-chosen); and now it’s everywhere. Perhaps by the time you receive this newsletter it will all have died down; perhaps not.
The whole episode has resulted in lots of discussion in the black community, in the white community, and in those few communities where both black and white folks live. One commentator suggested that it’s like we all get stuck in an old script when things like this come up – all of the usual arguments get shouted back and forth and there is little understanding shared between people.
Here is what I’ve observed: many white folks don’t understand that in fact, racial profiling does indeed occur on a regular basis and that many black folks have had experiences with the police where it seems the only thing wrong was that they happened to be black that day (I could relay to you story after story told to me by black friends who have been stopped by the police for no good reason. My favorite line said to a black friend by a police officer is: “You don’t look like you belong in this neighborhood.” My friend was driving to his house in his subdivision.)
Likewise, many black folks don’t understand that in fact most white folks are brought up to see police officers as friends and allies and can’t figure it out when others don’t see law enforcement officers the same way.
We get so stuck in that script that it is rare for anyone on either side to take a step back, take a deep breath and ask the other: “Would you help me understand why you feel that way?” But that would take us off script into new territory – which can be scary.
We have surely entered a new era by virtue of electing a black president. The ramifications of that will echo into the future. But that most certainly has not washed away all the old scripts that we cling to. We can’t know for sure who, if anyone, was at fault on that front porch in Cambridge, Mass. But we can ask ourselves: Have we bothered to examine the scripts we use when we talk about issues of race?
As we at Good Shepherd continue to reach into our neighborhood – into what is now a decidedly multiracial neighborhood – I give thanks that we have a different script to use with our neighbors: No matter who you are and what you look like, God loves you and we are determined to live out that love in the midst of this community. No earthly category can take away the one definition given to all of us by our Creator: We are ALL precious children of God.
As always, I am thankful to be serving among you in this place and in this time. We are called forward into a new future. We will respond together. And if we need to write a new script on race relations to do it, then by golly that’s what we’ll do.
In the last week one of those national stories that gets blown out of proportion by the relentless 24-hour news cycle caught my eye. You’ve certainly seen or heard it by now – Professor Henry Louis Gates of Harvard University was briefly arrested and charged at his home after exchanging heated words with an officer in the Cambridge, Massachusetts police department. Professor Gates had just returned from a long trip to China and was exhausted, coming down with a bad cold, and generally grumpy, when he arrived at his home to find that his door was jammed. He and the driver who was helping him with his bags worked to dislodge the door. A concerned citizen noticed the activity and thought there might be a break in occurring. The police responded to investigate.
What’s the big deal? Professor Gates is one of the foremost black scholars in the country. The police officer is white. Even after the professor showed identification to prove that he lived in that home, the officer asked him to step outside. Professor Gates lost his temper. The officer lost his temper back. The result was a black man was arrested on his own front porch by a white police officer. The story hit the airwaves; the president weighed in on the matter (using words that were, at the very least, ill-chosen); and now it’s everywhere. Perhaps by the time you receive this newsletter it will all have died down; perhaps not.
The whole episode has resulted in lots of discussion in the black community, in the white community, and in those few communities where both black and white folks live. One commentator suggested that it’s like we all get stuck in an old script when things like this come up – all of the usual arguments get shouted back and forth and there is little understanding shared between people.
Here is what I’ve observed: many white folks don’t understand that in fact, racial profiling does indeed occur on a regular basis and that many black folks have had experiences with the police where it seems the only thing wrong was that they happened to be black that day (I could relay to you story after story told to me by black friends who have been stopped by the police for no good reason. My favorite line said to a black friend by a police officer is: “You don’t look like you belong in this neighborhood.” My friend was driving to his house in his subdivision.)
Likewise, many black folks don’t understand that in fact most white folks are brought up to see police officers as friends and allies and can’t figure it out when others don’t see law enforcement officers the same way.
We get so stuck in that script that it is rare for anyone on either side to take a step back, take a deep breath and ask the other: “Would you help me understand why you feel that way?” But that would take us off script into new territory – which can be scary.
We have surely entered a new era by virtue of electing a black president. The ramifications of that will echo into the future. But that most certainly has not washed away all the old scripts that we cling to. We can’t know for sure who, if anyone, was at fault on that front porch in Cambridge, Mass. But we can ask ourselves: Have we bothered to examine the scripts we use when we talk about issues of race?
As we at Good Shepherd continue to reach into our neighborhood – into what is now a decidedly multiracial neighborhood – I give thanks that we have a different script to use with our neighbors: No matter who you are and what you look like, God loves you and we are determined to live out that love in the midst of this community. No earthly category can take away the one definition given to all of us by our Creator: We are ALL precious children of God.
As always, I am thankful to be serving among you in this place and in this time. We are called forward into a new future. We will respond together. And if we need to write a new script on race relations to do it, then by golly that’s what we’ll do.
Comments
That is a gracious and well thought out piece of work. Especially like how you ask us to consider what old scripts each of us are working off of. Good job.
Kevin
I agree completely!!!
Too many times we should stop and think "Who is driving the bus??" Old recordings die hard. It is time to make some new sound recordings for our minds!!
SC at COGS