Brian’s Reflection: Wednesday, Dec 17, 2009

Instead of being presented with stereotypes by
age, sex, color, class, or religion, children must
have the opportunity to learn that within each
range, some people are loathsome and some
are delightful

Margaret Mead, anthropologist, born on this day, 1901
[ Sorry; one day late! ]


Oh! God bless Margaret! I have been thinking about this issue for a long time. Here’s a story.

As a lead-in, a story from my AIDS chaplain days. We were having a training session for “Buddies”, those who volunteered to be a friend to persons with AIDS. Our trainer said, “Remember: a bastard before AIDS, a bastard after AIDS”. Boy, was he right!

I arrived back in the United States from Italy. I had become an American citizen – so I was in “our” line. As I approached the booths, a young African-American woman was giving directions. She was barkingly rude to almost everyone, but especially to those who were not light-skinned, and amazingly to those who were “black”.

As I approached the front (happily quickly, as one carrying an American passport) , she was busy “abusing” various people. Her tone of voice was like a Nazi soldier. And here I was staring at a poster saying something about how these people were servants of the American people, and bound to courtesy! Suddenly she got even more abrasive to one Indian-looking family.

I was horrified, and incensed. And, I was wearing my clerical collar. I said loudly to her: “You know; you are a representative of me, and all Americans. You are an employee of mine; I help pay your salary. I find it unacceptable that you are being rude to these people. What will they think Americans are really like, based on you? The sign says that you are committed to represent American values”.

Her head dropped; she looked a little chagrined. And she toned down.

Servanthood. It is critical to the Gospel, and to the “path” to becoming fully human.

That moment taught me something important, vis a vis our “politically correct” time. There are many “loathsome” people in the World, who live out of there own sense of inferiority and low self-esteem. They think that “power” means that they can belittle people, belittle their humanity. I hope that we get beyond that very soon ….. but this being America I doubt it. I hope that I am wrong.

There is no need to tolerate bigoted or prejudiced or socially limited people, like that little self-important gate-keeper. We must confront bigotry gently, firmly, but kindly, with love.

Delightful people. There are many of those in the world.! Remember : Advent is a time to assess just how committed we are to the Kingdom of God. To giving of ourselves to “build” that Kingdom.

B