\u201cTo believe in social transformation is to be an optimist.<\/p>\n
It has to have an element of utopianism about it.<\/p>\n
I live in hope that we can create such a movement again.\u201d<\/p>\n
-Kenan Malik- (cited from https:\/\/tribunemag.co.uk\/2023\/05\/not-so-black-and-white<\/a>)<\/em><\/p>\n To be honest, I have never directly experienced racism regarding my ethnic or racial identity. However, I had several experiences of bullying by a small number of my friends during elementary school, middle school, and high school because of my faith (you know that Christianity is a minority here). The schools I attended were private and public, not Christian or Catholic schools. I also remember several times experiencing indirect bullying in the form of subtle innuendos by one or two teachers who discredited the Christian faith.<\/p>\n Even though it is different, the experience of being bullied because of our identity (whether it be our social status, disability, race, or religion) is truly a very unpleasant thing. Maybe that is also one of the reasons for my wife and I to send our children to a Christian elementary school so that they do not experience what I felt in my childhood. Everyone doesn’t like being humiliated, insulted, or bullied because of their identity. Treatment in equality with respect for human dignity is an inherent right of every human being, whoever he is and whatever his background. Fukuyama once emphasized human dignity which needs to be respected and appreciated. Fukuyama writes, that inside in human soul there is a thymos, \u201cThymos is the part of the soul that craves recognition of dignity.\u201d[1]<\/a> From there, the term “isothymia” became known. Isothymia is \u201cthe demand to be respected on an equal basis with other people.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n In a previous post, I wrote that diversity is God’s will and gift. We can never choose to be born with any identity. Rejecting these phenomena, in my view, is the same as opposing the greatness of God’s power and wisdom over His creation. When I read Kenan Malik’s writings in his book, I felt that this was one of God’s ways of organizing life on earth which had been polluted with racist practices that later developed into practices of rejection, slavery, exploitation, oppression, and even genocide. Malik shows clearly that the practice of inequality is caused by racial differences. He writes, \u201cCertain people are treated unequally because they belong to, or are seen as belonging to, a distinct race.\u201d[3]<\/a> Even though racial differences and diversity are natural things, Malik mentioned how making hierarchical distinctions and assessments between one race and another is a social concept. That is why Malik emphasized that equality must also be created.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n Malik uses four interwoven narratives in this book. The first narrative retells the narrative of race. Second, Malik discusses the great resistance movements against racism and colonialism, demonstrating how this struggle broadened the definitions of universality and inequality. The third narrative is the link between race and class. Malik correctly argues that situations that appear to be only about race may often be better understood through the lens of class, and that “our preoccupation with race frequently hides the realities of injustice”. The last narrative of the book attempts to explain the genesis of modern identity politics.[5]<\/a><\/p>\n Malik explains in this book that the class classification of human races occurs because of political interests designed to take advantage of other parties, both in power and economically. Therefore, racist culture is created, maintained, and maintained in such a way in various ways. That is, racial divides do not come from the objective condition of a species separated into various races, but rather from a culture in which the concept of race has been developed to facilitate such divisions. As Malik adds, “Race did not give birth to racism. Racism gives birth to race.\u201d[6]<\/a><\/p>\n Efforts to fight for equal practices and eliminate racism and all its manifestations may still be a long journey. Even though many societal groups have accepted the concept of equality, the division of classes, ranks, ranks and positions, or hierarchical traditions are still being preserved to this day. Malik saw this clearly. He stated, “Racial ideology was the inevitable product of the persistence of differences of rank, class and peoples in a society that had accepted the concept of equality.”[7]<\/a> One of the main causes is because the culture of racism has been created since the initial practice of colonialism occurred. Because the “profits” from racism and racial division are large, all means will be used to perpetuate them. It is very possible that today the notion of racism is still and continues to be maintained, even though it uses covert and subtle forms. Malik explains, “Racial divisions had, from the days of colonialism, been created and exploited as a means of fracturing the solidarity of people at the bottom of society, and of derailing political and economic opposition. So it is now.”[8]<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n This makes me wonder, is racism part of a wicked problem, one that can never be truly resolved?[9]<\/a> I also wonder whether the presence of Christianity and the church can also make a big positive contribution to the struggle against racism, rejection, oppression, and exploitation of others because Christianity has not been able to stand firm against feelings of superiority or megalothymia (in Fukuyama’s terms)? Malik said that Christianity had been in the ranks of supporters of racism and slavery in the past. He wrote, “There was an acknowledgment that \u201cChristianity was not going to make a radical challenge to existing social distinctions\u201d. Status and hierarchy, inequality and privilege were all to stay.”[10]<\/a><\/p>\n However, I believe there is still potential and hope for Christianity and the church to persistently oppose racism in all of its manifestations. There is also a continuing endeavor to promote equality that recognizes the dignity of every human being, regardless of identity or origin. My hope is solidly founded because I see how Christian communities and churches throughout the world are actively involved in this struggle, motivated by a profound knowledge of Christ’s love. The Portland Seminary serves as a notable example of such a community. In this community (Lead Mentor, Project Faculty, Faculties, Staff, Cohort, Peer Group), I frequently see and feel how distinctions in race and origin do not impede individual progress in God’s understanding. Rather, the diversity is accepted and cherished throughout collaborative academic activities, creating an environment of mutual support and prayer. I am convinced that as long as this culture exists, the leaders who emerge from our alma mater will welcome and empower others through the love of Christ.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama,\u00a0Identity: The Demand for Dignity and the Politics of Resentment<\/em>, (New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2018), xiii.<\/p>\n [2]<\/a> Francis Fukuyama,\u00a0Identity.<\/em><\/p>\n [3]<\/a> Kenan Malik,\u00a0Not So Black and White: A History of Race from White Supremacy to Identity Politics<\/em>\u00a0(New York, NY: C. Hurst & Co., 2023), 12.<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Malik,\u00a0Not So Black and White<\/em>, 4-6.<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> Malik,\u00a0Not So Black and White<\/em>, 13.<\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Malik,\u00a0Not So Black and White<\/em>, 50.<\/p>\n [8]<\/a> Malik,\u00a0Not So Black and White<\/em>, 195.<\/p>\n