The Power of the Pen

America The Race Baiter

~ by Amber Rogers

If there's one thing that I can say about America it is that she is an equal opportunity oppressor, race baiter, and a systemic machine for White Supremacy. With the current onslaught of anti-Asian sentiment in our country today, and with the massacre of 6 Asians shot to death in 3 Georgia spas on March 18, 2021, White House Press Secretary, Jen Psaki, told reporters that the rhetoric about the coronavirus which was repeatedly used by former President Trump’s administration contributed to the hostility against Asian-Americans.

Trump's racially fueled insistence upon referring to Covid-19 as the 'China flu,' 'Chinese Virus' or 'Kung Flu.' solidified him and his presidency as curators of racial hatred, and division. If those words are a little harsh for your entitled and privileged ears, then this may not be the commentary that you want to hear. This commentary has been orchestrated and brought together in order to prick the consciousness of the Body of Christ. And in doing so, the hope is to catapult her from a place of self-centeredness into a broader, more global sphere of solidarity, stewardship and Sama-ri-tan-ism. Why, you ask? Because it is what Jesus would do!

All summer long last year, we as Black people, called for a unified voice to echo and reverberate across the country with our message of 'Black Lives Matter,' and reminding the silent that they were complicit in their silence. Well, now it is time for us to widen our focus to include not only ourselves but to extend that same disdain and outrage on behalf of our Asian brothers and sisters. The paralled history of Asians in America, is also egregious. Their slavery, servitude, and importation into America, (mostly after the transcontinental railroad was completed,) was not for their good nor was it in their favor. Many young girls were kidnapped from their homes in the Orient, and brought to America by fraud! They were put up for auction to the highest bidder, and their lives were lived under servitude and duress within the Chinese brothels; working as slaves or prostitutes.

When scripture, history, anthropology, and genomics is studied carefully then and only then will we be able to detect the orchestrating hand of our Divine God who knitted us together. And their degradation, by this country will not be our only common thread. How one group of people decided to get up, get over, overcome, achieve, excel and educate themselves does not trump their struggle! Especially when that struggle encompasses such hatred, bigotry and acts of violence against them. As with all documented stories of crimes against humanity, they should pull on the heartstrings of each of us who bear the name of Christ as their brother and Lord.

If your response to their call for solidarity is a flippant "receipt," or a recollection of an encounter from which you suffered belittlement, or alleged 'racial profiling' at the hands of a Korean Shop Owner, and you're holding that receipt as "bond" in your decision to look away from the evidence of their murder, brutality, and rampant abuse, then I'm going to need you to submit to a higher calling of humanity by letting Jesus be your example. Because within the comfort of racial, and spiritual vacuums the Body of Christ is in need of a heart transplant and a refresher course in biblical neighboring.

In the parable of the Good Samaritan, a traveler who had been robbed, beaten and left for dead alongside of the road, is passed by, and stepped over by a Jewish priest, and then a Levite. They both ceased to help him when they came upon him, and they both avoided the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by, and although Samaritans and Jews despised each other, the Samaritan helps the injured man. Jesus told this parable in response to the question of "who is my neighbor?" from an arrogant lawyer desirous of showing himself circumspect to Jesus in his law keeping! And the conclusion, defining moment, and the nail in his coffin was the revelation that the "neighbor" in the parable was the one who showed mercy to the injured man— the Samaritan. This was a lesson in ethics! When we bandage the wounds of those who are not in our clique, or when we pour oil on their wounds and administer wine to their thirst, we are then coming out of the litigious comfort zone of our laws of reasoning and we are picking up the tab! And the cost for his shelter, protection, and peace has at that point broken away our chains of selfishness and ego-centeredness, and we have made the Father proud!

Being a lawyer, knowing the law, and practicing the law, are three separate branches from the same tree... And it is the will of the Father that we not only fall under His ordinances, but that we "practice" His ordinances and that we be not just hearers of the Word but doers.