The White Elephant in the Room

A conversation on prejudice, racism, and CTS, with Rodolfo Galindo, Contributing Editor, and Mike Walton

Mike Walton:Is racism alive and well? The problem in this conversation is that we as the white majority do not understand that the issue of racism is not an entity that exists outside of us, but is a problem inside of us. We don't perceive racism within ourselves nor in our environment. Therefore we don't speak out on it.

Rodolfo Galindo:Minorities are not taken seriously when we speak out on particular themes or subjects that concern diversity and racism. I am seen as the disgruntled minority that causes trouble or rocks the boat. I am considered a controversy seeker with a pre-planned agenda, infusing the agenda into the issues we try to bring up. The truth is that when I say anything about a subject of social justice or diversity I am seen as representing a one-sided issue that empowers a particular people group. So if I, or any other minority representative, addresses the concerns of our minority community, the community I represent thinks “He is helping to empower and encourage all of us” whereas the other side, usually in the majority camp, will say “he is empowering them.” In this language we notice that there is a slight difference in thought and yet it has huge ramifications. The one that thinks we’re empowering an “us” mentality believes this is to the benefit of all. The other side believes that “empowering them” reflects a mentality that is “you vs. me.” You are being empowered and by being empowered are lessening my empowerment. Lessening the power a person has as a member of the majority is seen as an attack and thus a fight to keep power ensues. Though the majority won’t say this, this subtle superiority complex does not need to be told outright for the people to be practicing a life that reflects a hidden attitude. We all live out of these hidden mental frameworks, or worldviews. We don’t have to consciously think the “how and why of sitting on a chair,” we just do it. It is the same with racism or prejudice.

Mike Walton:You are very close to the issue, however I think that we as the (white) majority often grow uncomfortable with this language of empowerment. We often believe that we are only watching out for what is fair for us.

There are two definitions that I would like to go after. The first definition is prejudice. Prejudice with regards to race is having a strong bias towards your own ethnicity with a strong dislike of people outside your ethnicity. Usually minorities fall into this camp. It carries no power to carry out an agenda. Racism, in contrast, is something much more powerful than prejudice. It is prejudice on steroids, it has the power to influence and move any particular agenda forward. Like prejudice it is also biased towards a particular ethnic or racial group, but it adds a superiority complex that can actualize its agenda more easily. Usually racism lies with the people group in the majority, as they have the power and influence to affect society.

Rodolfo Galindo:There are two kinds of racism, but first a clarification. Racism, in my experience, is similar to what you said though my definition is broader. I think that racism is something that can be both seen and unseen. It is pervasive and covert. Racism is a part of our worldview or the mental framework that we live out. I am not aware, in other words, that I am a racist, unless I come into contact with or am confronted in a relationship where I am exposed as a racist. This is why racism is so widespread and so pervasive, because we do not see it in ourselves. We need others to expose it within us and like all sin it is prevalent. Therefore, as we are all sinners, I believe we are all racist. Total depravity my friend. This definition allows for the humility needed when talking about this issue. If we are all in the same boat then we can all, with humility, begin the process of reconciliation.

The two kinds of racism are aversive and subversive. Aversive racism is KKK, Neo-Nazi racism. The violence is concentrated, controlled, extravagant, lavish and hateful. It is front-page news. This is the caricature of what racism is, the most wide-spread personification or perception of racism. In fact it is the least dangerous in our present context. Although you have cross burning and lynching, the violence is not as widespread. The second kind of racism is subversive. Subversive is the most-widespread in practice, but not the most acknowledged. Many who practice this would be the ones who say “I’m not a racist.” In fact the reason it is so wide-spread is because it is covert in the sense that we don’t sense it, as it is indoctrinated. It is in fact part of our way of living. We are socialized and enculturated into a society where it is the norm and the mores support the norm. Since it is a part of our everyday life we do not notice it, just as we don’t consciously have to think about how to breathe. We practice it without knowing it. We use aversive racism as a scapegoat. It is a way of escaping ourselves. We struggle to look at ourselves beyond the generalization that we are sinners. We neglect to admit such particular sins as “I am a sinner with a pornography addiction.” In the same way we also struggle with admitting our racism or prejudice. Society is built in such a way that it perpetuates racism or prejudice. We only need to look at our society in the U.S. and see that there are particular people groups who are the "have's” and “have not’s" that are specifically positioned or chosen to live as such. Whether as a minority or as a white person, you can look at society as you grow up and without having to be taught by your parents you know what social class you fall into. It is a lesser form of a caste system, a semi-Victorian class system with a capitalistic drive.

Mike Walton:I agree. Prejudice and racism are practices. We are raised or grow up learning them. If you can’t admit this concept, there will never be any true change, because if you can’t admit it you will never be able to take a true step forward against the underlying issue. The point is that the problem isn’t in the world outside of me the problem is me. The issue is that we, I mean white people, feel that the problem is no longer an issue. We look around and we say “look at all the things we’ve done to fix the problem.” We say we have black or Hispanic friends, but as a need to qualify our non-racism. The fact that we need to have such a qualification indicates that the problem is still there, hidden. The need to qualify our racial relationships is proof of our sin. Most people may not agree with this, but I believe it is true. At issue is the fact that you are using racial identity to prove something about yourself. This is apparent in me when, after making the claim I have black and Hispanic friends, I still respond differently when I am approached by a group of black males and a group of white males on the streets of Chicago. It is apparent when I tell my brothers of color that they are reading too much into a situation when they tell me they have to worry when pulled over by a police officer; worrying about being pulled over by a police officer has more to do with the color of their skin than a traffic violation. I never have to ask myself this question, a privilege I enjoy due to the color of my skin. My White Privilege.

Rodolfo Galindo:Sins or things like white privilege are shaped directly in association with our world-view or mental framework. The hidden attitudes from which we live create a mental-framework that communicates one’s elevated status as a person over others. The problem is that you receive what your expectations are, but others like myself who are in the minority aren’t able to have those same expectations met because of who we are. Those who have always had those expectations met are not able to understand their brother’s experience when their expectations are not met. They don’t not see the problem because they do not experience it.

I was in the parking lot at my old college. I was the leader of a Christian ministry for the college. I had just gotten into my car and was giving a ride home to a member of our ministry with a mental handicap. A fellow leader who was white got into his car to leave at the same time as me and was a row over. We were the only cars in the lot. A cop pulls into the lot and pulls behind my car so I can’t get out. He approached me in the vehicle and tells me I had been speeding. I hadn’t even turned on my car! He tapped on the window with his baton. I told him I hadn’t even left the parking lot and so couldn’t have been speeding. He told me I was arguing with him and then told me that my plates were expired. I told him my plates were current and then he asked me to get out of the car. He pushed me against the car, spread my legs and my arms. So I’m there and I’m scared and he searches me. He doesn’t find anything. I had my back to the cop and I heard my friend’s voice from behind me asking the cop, “Hey! What are you doing to him!” I was startled to hear my friend’s voice filled with anger and fear. As I turned my head to look at my friend I saw the officer had his baton raised as if to hit me. If not for my friend that night I could have been in the hospital or worse; has that ever happened to you as a white person? That is white privilege.

Mike Walton:The first thing I think when I hear this story is that it is over-dramatized. My gutreaction is “that would never happen.” It is because of my fallen nature that I assume that because this has never happened to me, or happened to people like me, that this could never happen to anyone. This problem, then, is not the sin outside of me but the sin inside of me. We try to identify sin as being something we don’t do anymore. We attempt to conquer our sins through mental gymnastics and diluted definitions.

However, what this accomplishes is that we think we have conquered a particular sin as we have described it. We think “I don’t gossip, I just talk without their knowing, to help them” or “ I don’t look at pornography, I just enjoy the scenery. I check out the women at the mall and enjoy the fine ‘assets’ God gave her, but I don’t lust.” Again, it is about defining sin in a way that makes me feel good about myself because I can claim I am no longer a sinner, praise be to God! It becomes a critical part of the mental framework we live from.

This is where our struggle with racism is currently at, we define racism in such a way that if I have a minority friend or champion a minority issues or cause than I am not a racist, but God’s instrument of change. However what this doesn’t get at is the underlying issue that is still inside of me. When I am approached by a group of black or Hispanic men on a back street in a large city, as opposed to a white group of individuals, I think I am just plain S.O.L. That is my racist attitude.

Rodolfo Galindo:That is the point, you don’t think it happens because it’s never happened to you. You base your experience on the group of people that you hang out with, who are mostly like you in appearance, and assume that since they have never experienced it either, my experience cannot be valid. White privilege allows you the benefit of choosing to not interact with minorities at all. You don't have to go to a particular place to interact with them, but I as a minority have no choice but to interact with the white majority. Some people reading this article are probably asking how this applies here at Calvin Theological Seminary. At CTS we see an example of white privilege in action because I can't help but interact with groups of white people. The majority of white people at CTS have the choice not to interact with groups of people like me (Latino-American) or other minority groups.

The staff, faculty and students are mostly white with the exception of international students. International students, though do not necessarily have a history with the white majority of the United States and Canada. They are therefore perceived to be, though never bluntly told, that they are the model or ideal minority. African Americans and other minorities from America carry more baggage. We are perceived as being harder to "get along with," but I think that is a given because of the history. The same rule applies when you do something mean to your spouse and its been six months since you have spoken to him/her and not given them an apology. Do you think that she will not also be "hard to get along with?" This is why I believe we need ethnic diversity in all institutions, especially at CTS. The reason is that if we cannot effect change at the seminary, how can we expect to change the hearts and minds of the Church? An anti-racism policy? An antiracism workshop? An anti-racism committee or office? Racism and prejudice are ultimately fought through inter-ethnic/racial relationships. If this is not being done in our seminary community, how will it be done after seminary?

Mike Walton:Are we here at CTS free of this problem? Free of this issue? Unfortunately, in many cases I would have to answer a resounding “no.” I am still continually battling the subversive power of racism on my soul and can see it play out in the interaction I and others have with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It is only when we fall on our knees before our Lord, admit our brokenness and ask him to help us move forward that we can have victory over this issue. A doctrinal statement or anti-racism policy will never bring us to our goal, an examination of our own heart.

Rodolfo Galindo:To change we need a contrite heart led to repentance and a mind open to see the fallen world for what it is. We will never see certain sins, including racism, so long as institutions and professionals both young and old don’t actively seek to increase ethnic diversity in environments that are predominantly one race. If there is no dynamic ethnic diversity in our schools, churches and institutions that have a history with the white majority in America then there is ignorance of personal racism. Is this the case at our school? If the environment does not change its homogeneity it will stay ignorant to racism. The fundamental question at hand is "am I a racist?" This question can not be asked with integrity if you are not in relationship and in constant exposure to people utterly different from yourself and your race.

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