My purpose here has been to encourage modern American right-wing church people to admit to themselves that many of their core political beliefs support ongoing racism against black Americans and are unchristian to the point of being anti-Christ (opposing the royal commandment to love your neighbor as yourself). The message is often met with scorn and defensiveness instead of BIBLICAL contemplation. Unfortunately, it seems like some people are willing to risk it all (salvation) in order to maintain their feeling of racial superiority and whatever status that might confer.
I thought it would be instructive to review some typical right-wing objections to anti-racism, given that they are striking evidence of the self-deception that we are told to expect in these times.
Blame the victim
Probably the number one knee-jerk response to anti-racism by right-wing political Christians has been to vilify anyone who criticizes American racism as being a “far left-wing liberal” – which to them is the very definition of evil. This is of course learned propaganda that has been promoted for decades by the billionaire created and supported right wing media complex. It readily meets the BIBLE definition of bearing false witness. (Breaking the 9th commandment.) The truth is the truth, no matter who says it. Slandering your chosen enemy does nothing to absolve you of your sin, it is just another sin added on. In fact, attacking the person telling you the truth is not even a defense – it is merely a hypocritical self-deceptive attempt to shift blame.
At this point, right-wing political evangelicals simply cannot accept anti-racism as anything other than a politically motivated attack - they project their own “my politics first” mindset on anyone who would denounce racism in the church.
As for myself, I am not political, I am addressing racism where it should not exist: in church congregations that are overtly right-wing, republican, political and now starting to lean towards open fascism.
Blanket Denial
Although right-wing political church people grudgingly admit that racism is “bad”, they absolutely refuse to acknowledge that they are the racists – regardless of the naked racism implicit in their attitudes, actions, and statements. Even though they voted for and still support the most openly racist American president in recent history, they say accusing them of racism is slander because… well that’s it, just because. They can’t or won’t admit that practicing racism makes you a racist. And, “oh by the way” Donald Trump is not a racist either!
Actual pro-racist redditor quote: “(I don’t) …believe Trump to be racist one little bit… and I bet money that NOBODY here voted for trump because they think he’s racist and nobody here thinks racism is good.”
Obviously, pretending that you believe that racism is not “good” and doing something about it by refusing to support it - forgoing any real or perceived personal advantage - are two vastly different things.
5 Undeniable Indicators of Racism by Right-wing Christians
1. Anti-Black Lives Matter. The reflexive and often illogical opposition to this slogan by right-wing political Christians shows that they feel the need to resist anything that suggests that black Americans should have full citizenship rights. These people refuse to understand that BLM is a grass roots reaction to racist police being able to target innocent people by skin color and then mistreat, falsely arrest, imprison, and or, kill them without any legal consequences. Pro black-lives is not pro-criminal or anti-white – it is pro “average citizen being treated with respect by public employees – regardless of skin color” according to the Constitution of the United States.
2. Rabid anti-CRT-ism. Even though most right-wing evangelical types don’t actually know what Critical Race Theory is, they do know what the right-wing media cesspool has told them. CRT has become the umbrella term for any truthful recounting of American history in terms of racism, slavery, and genocide. Those on the right literally fear standardized teaching about the true history of America. It is a textbook case of cognitive dissonance where white people are extremely uncomfortable with hearing that America is rich and powerful not because of white supremacist manifest destiny but because black people were forced to work for free on stolen land for 300 years. They fear that telling this truth could lead to improvements in the lives of blacks, which in turn might take something away from whites (although no one ever says what).
The wide-spread and almost instant adoption of anti-BLM/CRT propaganda by the right-wing political church indicates that they have a mindset that is against anything that might potentially improve the lot of blacks in America.
That is racism.
3. Pro-police brutality (against black people). On the right, there is continuing total support for fascist-style police action, in all respects, as long as it is only used against black people. For decades white America pretended that police brutality in the black community was a myth; complaints by black people were automatically discarded as being untruthful. However, the wide-spread availability of personal video recording devices provided evidence that could no longer be dismissed – so they revised the lie to just blame the victim, e.g., “if they would just comply with the officer’s commands…etc.” Of course, this completely ignores the innumerable cases where people are immediately treated as suspects or those where people are shot dead by police who do not even bother to identify themselves.
4. Anti-black voter suppression. Although this may seem like a new tactic, it was actually employed against Blacks in America even before the civil war. This overtly racist strategy is meant to unequivocally maintain white supremacy by disallowing black votes. Terroristic voter suppression was enforced by lynching (ritual murder) for more than 100 years in post-Civil War America. With that history in mind, the employment of voter suppression in 2022 underscores the total depravity of the republican right-wing in modern America.
5. The pretense that voting right-wing isn’t racist. Voting for candidates that pander to white supremacy by endorsing the previous items on this list, is supporting anti-black racism – full stop. This includes the shockingly idolatrous political support for two current anti-christ figures: Trump and Putin. (Since the Obama presidency, there has been open right-wing evangelical support for Putin as a white racist strongman who would be far more preferable as a leader than any Black man, no matter how respectable.) Unfortunately, there are right-wing presidential candidates like Desantis and Hawley in the pipeline who are more evil, vicious, and sadly far more competent and potentially destructive than Donald Trump. One can only wonder at the potential for evil by someone in Russia who might be powerful enough to depose Putin.
Will the right-wing Church reject all rebuke?
The bottom line is that American racists, including those who call themselves Christians, are currently refusing to acknowledge or repent of any racism, past or present, by convincing themselves that anti-racism equals anti-white America.
I find it sad that so much of the BIBLE is dedicated to telling GOD's people to repent and yet a contemporary version of the same message is so readily rejected by right-wing political Christians. The absolute blizzard of BIBLE verses I quote to show that people practicing racism are in spiritual danger are generally ignored or dismissed.
Anti-black racism exists. It is growing among white “Christian” nationalists. All Christians should speak out against it.
5. The pretense that voting right-wing isn’t racist. Voting for candidates that pander to white supremacy by endorsing the previous items on this list, is supporting anti-black racism – full stop. This includes the shockingly idolatrous political support for two current anti-christ figures: Trump and Putin. (Since the Obama presidency, there has been open right-wing evangelical support for Putin as a white racist strongman who would be far more preferable as a leader than any Black man, no matter how respectable.) Unfortunately, there are right-wing presidential candidates like Desantis and Hawley in the pipeline who are more evil, vicious, and sadly far more competent and potentially destructive than Donald Trump. One can only wonder at the potential for evil by someone in Russia who might be powerful enough to depose Putin.
Will the right-wing Church reject all rebuke?
The bottom line is that American racists, including those who call themselves Christians, are currently refusing to acknowledge or repent of any racism, past or present, by convincing themselves that anti-racism equals anti-white America.
I find it sad that so much of the BIBLE is dedicated to telling GOD's people to repent and yet a contemporary version of the same message is so readily rejected by right-wing political Christians. The absolute blizzard of BIBLE verses I quote to show that people practicing racism are in spiritual danger are generally ignored or dismissed.
Anti-black racism exists. It is growing among white “Christian” nationalists. All Christians should speak out against it.
