Halloween Costumes and White Privilege

First of all, I'm going to refer to white privilege during this post. If you are unfamiliar with white privilege, I suggest you look it up first. Also, keep in mind that while I did study white privilege for a class in college, I'm by no means an expert on the subject, and I'm not pretending to be.

I stumbled upon this article about a group of college students who are expressing disapproval of some of the Halloween costumes out there. I had shared the article on Facebook and received several different (but equally well thought-out!) responses. There are also a lot of thoughtful, varied comments on the page itself. I wanted to share my thoughts on here. A few people also brought up the interesting question of “Is it okay to dress like witches?” and “Is it okay to dress like Jesus/G-d?” While those are excellent questions, those are separate issues from race, and I'm not going to address them in this post. I might do another post if I have time. I'll have to see; it's going to be a busy week.

A lot of people were in agreement that a white person dressing like a Native American or putting on blackface is inappropriate. But some people didn't see the problem with dressing in Asian or Hispanic costumes like the ones shown in the picture. This was a very thoughtful, respectful discussion for the most part. But I have to wonder how much knowledge and understanding of white privilege went into the discussion.

White privilege is the easiest to identify when you are talking about our historical relations with black people and Native Americans. It can be more subtle, I think, when we're talking about other ethnic groups, because in our white minds, oppression of those groups is not as blatant. I think the reason people think that is because oppression of other races like Asians and Hispanics isn't as well-known. If it was, it would be easier to see that white privilege exists in our relations with other minorities as well.

The subject of costumes is an issue of white privilege when it doesn't add up if you turn the situation around. If someone who wasn't white decided to dress up in a Scandinavian folk outfit as a means of dressing up as a “white person” we would, understandably, take offense. “White culture” is not a homogenous thing. Not every white person is Scandinavian, and that costume does not accurately describe ALL Scandinavians. Racism says that white privilege is irrelevant and it doesn't matter if we do that to non-whites. White privilege says, “It would be wrong if they did it, so it needs to be wrong when we do it.”

The Importance of the National Missionary Movement

I know I haven't written about spiritual things in awhile. That's mostly because I've been thinking about and researching the way the Westernized church (read: the white church) has always done things, and I've come to some conclusions that I know won't be popular. But Christianity is supposed to be about truth, not popularity. Therefore, I have a moral obligation to share these things.

The issue I'm going to tackle in this post is mission work. I'm not saying we shouldn't do it. But the WAY we do it needs serious work. Mission work needs to be about people, not personal agendas. I stumbled upon this article. It's entitled “10 Reasons Not to Become a Missionary".” In my experience, these seem to be the 10 most common reasons why people become missionaries.

After learning about the national missionary movement through Gospel For Asia, I'm convinced this is the way to go in most cases. Right now, I wouldn't say I think we should NEVER send Western missionaries overseas, but I do think it should be the last resort, not the first. Christianity was never intended to be the “white man's religion.” It's still perceived that way in countries that were colonized by the US and Europe.

I'm not going to elaborate on why national missionaries are the way to go. The GFA website explains all that, and it's pretty simple. I want to focus on the bigger question of why we aren't spending more time, energy, and resources on national missionaries. I know there's not a simple answer to that, but I want to share my theories, because I've given this a lot of thought, and it's important.

We have a savior complex here in the American church. We get it into our heads that other countries have problems that only we have the solutions to. Are we serious?! Wake up and smell the bullshit! We have plenty of our own problems! Saving people is a job we are not qualified for! Our job is to lead them to the only One who can save them. And that can't happen until we buck up and put G-d and people before our own selfishness.

Hell Hath No Fury

I'm sure you're all familiar with Shakespeare's famous quote, "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."  Lately I've been rather irritated with different aspects of everyday life.  Not seriously irritated, but irritated enough to want to get it out of the system.  I thought it would be funny to express all this in statements that start with "hell hath no fury..."  So here goes:

Hell hath no fury like a woman who wishes her cat would actually do something about all these darn flies.  Hell hath no fury like a woman with a flyswatter.

Hell hath no fury like a twentysomething who is sick to death of wearing her night retainer.  Hell hath no fury like a woman who is sick of discussing the possibility of future braces with her dentist.  (After all, orthodontia is for teenagers, and the last thing I need is something to make me look younger than I already do.)

Hell hath no fury like the woman who somehow managed to bonk herself in the nose.

Okay, I think that's about all I've got.  It's late.  Feel free to add your own endings to "hell hath no fury" in the comment section if you're so inclined! G'nite, everyone!

 

Stomping Out the Word "Deserve"

The word “deserve” is possibly one of the most overused words in the Christian subculture. People have so many opinions on what we don't deserve because of original sin, or what we do deserve because Christ lives in us. We can spin scripture to “prove” that we do or don't deserve pretty much whatever we want.

And that's why we really need to be done with the word “deserve.” Can we really know, with absolute certainty, what we do or don't deserve in this life? Some people think so, but I've come to the conclusion that said people are a few grapes short of a fruit salad on this one. People have so many different definitions of “deserve” that it's become too subjective to be any sort of barometer for our behavior.

We need to ask ourselves what we legitimately need, and we need to get those needs met, regardless of whether or not others think we “deserve” it. I need rock-solid stability in my life after everything I've been through. I need work-life balance. (Think running an Etsy shop isn't work? Ha! Think again!) I need to make time for things that actually make me feel good, not just things that seem “productive” to me. I need to find that delicate balance between getting enough social interaction and not wearing out the “innie” half of my “ambi-vert” personality. I need knitting, writing, and art like a diabetic needs insulin.

Do I “deserve” any of those things? I honestly don't know. You could say I deserve them because I'm a “good” person, or you could say I don't because I'm a “bad” person. But I don't think it's that simple. There are very few people who are ALL good or ALL bad. And because of that, I don't know if I deserve any of these things. But I know I need them.

A Word About Expectations

This post is about as close to discussing my political views as I'm going to get.  Generally, I try to focus more on social justice than politics.  (And no, they are not the same thing, but that's a whole other topic.)  It's not that I don't have political views.  I assure you, I do.  But I don't identify with a specific party, and if you're a Christian and not a Republican, some Christians treat you like the antichrist.  So trying to have a discussion doesn't usually get me anywhere.  But I'm getting so fed up with all the heat around the topics of health care and same-sex marriage that I'm going to explode if I don't say something. 

Ultimately, it's about expectations.  You're probably wondering what expectations have to do with politics.  Expectations have EVERYTHING to do with politics!  

Expectations are the backbone of our viewpoints.  For example, many people who oppose health care reform do so because they believe that abortion is immoral. Their expectation is that people should not have abortions.  They believe more people will fail to meet this expectation if it's not legally enforced.  Another example is the issue of same-sex marriage.  Generally, people who oppose it do so on the grounds of believing (having an expectation) that marriage is between a man and a woman.  

Do I have my views on these subjects?  Goodness, yes!  But I don't attach the same expectations to them as most people.  I have my viewpoints based on what I believe is "right", but I can't expect someone else to share those views if they don't interpret religious texts the same way as me.  If there's one thing I've learned, it's that people will find ways to do what they want, to carry out what they will believe in, and there's only so much the government can do about it.  

That concludes the first (and probably last) politically-oriented entry on this blog.  I care more about people than politics.  But again, I had to say something.

Love/Hate Update 10/2/13

Sorry for the lack of posts. I've been having a rough time of it emotionally and spiritually. Blogging is one of the first things to go whenever that happens. Here's an update on the past few weeks or so, using my Love/Hate format.

Love:

-Esther. We just hit the one-year anniversary of her forever home day. So grateful for this kitty! She is our resident pillow-warmer, therapy kitty, and pilates companion. If only she had even the slightest interest in being our resident fly hunter!

-Knitting. The Etsy shop is back up and running, and I love it! Still trying (read: struggling) to maintain a “work”/life balance. But it's a work in progress.

-My sister. Is coming. To town. NEXT WEEK! I am so BONKERS excited about this. Ever since she graduated from college and moved away and became a real grown-up and stuff, I don't get to see her much anymore.

Hate:

-How everyone, but especially Americans, put too much faith in the government. The government is like money. It's a tool that is very useful for some problems, but it can't solve EVERY problem

-being a Christian while having SERIOUS issues with westernized Christianity, as well as organized religion in general. I don't think I can adequately describe how difficult this is. Once I find the words, I will definitely be writing more about this.