The Unfettered Pulpit   Continued...

So much has been stirred up by this election. One would be remiss to ignore the undercurrents and the sub-texts of each accusation and speculation. Whatever else he is, Barack Obama is still a Black man, as understood by Americans, and Hillary Clinton is still a White woman. Beneath and hovering slightly above every casual remark and every carefully worded attack is that reality.

And the big white lie we tell every day is that it isn't a big deal.

But when we look at voter statistics in this primary, how else do we explain the fact that blue collar and working class white Americans continue to support Clinton ; that older Americans support her; and that middle-aged white women flock to her? There is sexism in some voters' rejection of her, and there is undoubtedly racism in some voters' rejection of Obama. What interests me is our fear of facing this truth.

White is our color for May. We have two child dedications scheduled, and we have two Sundays planned where the discussion will touch upon race. Since the overwhelming majority of our members and of Unitarian Universalists are “white,” (I prefer the term Caucasian , even though that's not exactly right either), it might be a good time for us to think about the notion of “whiteness.” The reason it has been used for baby dedications and weddings and that the Pope wears white is that it is associated with purity. Yet we know now that white is not the absence of color but the blend of all colors of the spectrum in equal amounts. My most vivid memory of reading Moby Dick for the first time is of the chapter “The Whiteness of the Whale,” where Melville (a Unitarian) parses the many ways in which whiteness can evoke horror as well as peace and light.

“White” people are not better; in fact, they are not even white! Caucasian skin most likely evolved from dark skin as humans progressed into colder latitudes and needed less pigment to absorb more Vitamin D. And it would probably be difficult to find a “white” American who did not have Black, Asian, American Indian, or other ancestry somewhere. So why all the fuss? Unitarian Universalists have been among the first of the faith groups to deconstruct these questions and to grapple with the uncomfortable answers. I hope we can continue to do so, and not let the Big White Lie, that racism is a thing of the past, keep us silent.

Meanwhile, whether you are white, Black, or Brown, you might enjoy a website called www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.wordpress.com . The list, delivered with humor and honesty, includes coffee, farmers' markets, Yoga, Toyota Prius, and Barack Obama. See you in church!

  

 

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