If Your White Body Was Shocked, Be Silent

My Catholic faith tradition and other Christians celebrated the Feast of the Epiphany yesterday. I am not a theologian, but my humble understanding is that the Epiphany was not only about the visit of the magi from the East but also their inner awareness or knowing of the Divine Nature of the infant Jesus. It is this Divine Nature that allows us to identify him as the Christ. 

Our nation is in need of an epiphany, especially those of the dominant group who are in white bodies. Those of us with other identities are well aware of the discrepancies of the ideals the nation celebrates and our lived experience. This is not the standard false dualism of a both sides argument.

I am angry today -– angered by the broken systems that enable a gravely flawed con man in a white body to hold and desecrate the Office of President. He has used and continues to use his platform to incite yesterday’s violence and terror, as well as undermine the Constitution. Those of us who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQIA, economically disadvantaged, and/or immigrant know that various law enforcement agencies would have joined forces to limit our actions had we planned a violent gathering at the nation’s Capitol.

There is no justification for the inevitable violence and attempted insurrection the world witnessed on Wednesday, January 6, at the Capitol of the United States of America. As a citizen of this nation, I know the federal government has the capacity to use its power to maintain order in the face of violence. The insurrection was permitted to unfold by those who chose to ignore the writing on the wall. This is not the standard false dichotomy of both sides being flawed.

For those not in the dominant group, seeing the writing on the wall is a matter of survival – life or death. Sadly, we know you have been taught not to recognize it just as you do not hear or share our demands for equity and justice. Your reward is privilege. The events of yesterday may help you to recognize this privilege and appreciate the risk of challenging the status quo.

If you are in a white body and shocked by Wednesday’s violence, you need to be quiet — be silent. This is a time for you to do major inner work. Do not attempt to explain or justify what you witnessed. If you are a person of faith, pray in silence with no words. If this concept is new to you, this is the ideal time to learn to be silent in God. If you are not a person of faith, spend time being in silence in nature. Ponder why you missed the writing on the wall. Befriend silence.