Rise & Shine - August 9, 2020

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Prove Yourself to Me - The Edict of Inferiority

Rise & Shine, August 9th

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Matthew 14: 22-33
Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but by this time the boat, battered by the waves, was far from the land, for the wind was against them. And early in the morning he came walking toward them on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, “Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid,

Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat, started walking on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Commentary from Maggie Gough:
It’s a fascinating consideration. Individuals that fear their inferiority invite other people to prove themselves in systems designed for failure. What I find interesting is that Peter asks Jesus to prove he is who he says he is. When Jesus returns the invitation, Peter fails due to his lack of faith, or perhaps fear of inferiority - Jesus saves him anyway. If we’re really wrestling with white inferiority, could we use our faith to enter into a wholeness, a worthiness that would allow us to be vulnerable in our allyship?

In the News

From the Instagram Account of Dr. Candice Nicole:

There is nothing superior or supreme about any socially constructed group of humans.

Only a sense of inferiority compels people to establish and sustain power-reinforced hierarchies and hoard resources.

It’s really been a white inferiority complex we’ve been contending with for generations. The colonial/imperial enterprise, the genocide of indigenous people and resisters, the enslavement of black and indigenous people, the kidnapping and imprisonment of BIPOC, the lying codified legally, the sexual, verbal, and physical assaults, the anxiety and rage against liberation movements, and the terrorism BIPOC have had to exist within in the United States is not the work of people who feel superior.

It isn’t the work of people who feel a sense of wholeness or worthiness. It is the work of people who feel incredibly inadequate, impotent, and unworthy acting out to steal every resource to which they assign value.

Whiteness as a social construct was designed to organize the world to facilitate greater ease for a certain class of white people: landowning, religious, white men, but

• I don't need to legislate my privilege if I truly believe in meritocracy.
• I don't need to pit poor white people against poor black people if I don't need them to defend me as police and military.
• I don't need to steal, appropriate, or hoard if I truly believe I can build and create for myself.
• I don't need to suppress voting if I truly believe I am best for people.
• I don't need to center myself exclusively in education and curriculum, if I don't fear learning about the advancements and with the achievements of other people that will eclipse me.
• I don't need to use religion as a vehicle of oppression if I believe in my own divinity.
• I don't need to control everything and everyone if I feel powerful.

The mandate of white culture is to win, not to actually be the best. Winning doesn’t require one to be the best or to even work on honing skills. All it requires is cheating and systemic racism is cheating.

• I don't need to cheat if I truly believe in my competence.

The diction of white supremacy is psychologically inaccurate. It’s cancelled. Call it what it is. Nearly every system in the United States is organized in a white inferiority complex and this trickles down into cultural racism, and personally mediated racism. This then seeps into internalized racism when BIPOC adopt, endorse, and express this sense of inferiority.

Addendum: When I am training, I can hold the understandable fury, disappointment, grief, and suspicion of Black participants along with working in a love ethic that doesn't include using shame as an educational strategy for White participants.

Accountability and truth telling is a must, I'm about that, and it differs from shaming. Anger is a normal part of this process for all of us, so I honor that when we feel it. I hope this helps people make an informed decision when they hire me.