My post for August 30 was entitled, "What's the Deal With White People Anyway?" Awful post it was. I was upset when I wrote it. I was having a misunderstanding, and the person who occasioned the misunderstanding happened to be a White person. And like in the words of philosopher Hubbard who would say, "an unclear mind sees one misunderstanding occasioned by one person as representative of all potential experiences occasioned by all similar persons," I hastily generalized. The misunderstanding has long since been resolved, and in the resolution process I discovered in any case that all it was, was simply that: a misperception; a miscommunication. But I have been sufficiently disturbed by my blog post of the 30th to want to break my tradition of writing only a post a day, so as to write this rebuttal. My post of the 30th was very one-sided. It talked only about a negative view of White people, but did not speak of the many positive things they have accomplished, as well as the enormous good they are doing now, and still will do.
Granted, no one is perfect. But many people are holy and good. The White race has given to us countless saints, saints that I love and am devoted to, such as: Aquinas, Bonaventure, Francis of Assisi, my favorite human being of all time; Rita, Cecilia, Maria, and so forth. These people loved God ever so passionately that their virtue shone forth like the morning sun. The White race has also given us many scholars, some of whom I adore, like Rene Descartes, currently my favorite philosopher; as well as the usual favorites, like Socrates, Plato, Locke, Hume, Berkeley, and Kant. The White race has also given to us so many inventors, architects, painters - let me here quickly mention at least three: Michelangelo, Donatello, and Rembrandt - and so many craftsmen and artisans that have made life as we know it easier and prettier.
The list of accomplishments of the White race is inexhaustible. I'm probably not supposed to say this as a Black man, but I do think that the White race is the singular most accomplished race ever in human history. The fruits of their accomplishments are evident. But like I said in the previous post, they have not always lived up to the best of themselves. Well, what race by the way has? Again, Romans 3:23 says: "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." Again, by way of rebuttal, I must say I spoke very hastily and definitely categorically when I said there was no White person I had met that was non-racist. This can't be true. What about my pastor back at St Joseph's Catholic Church, Lagos, himself a White man, and a missionary to Nigeria, who did so much good for our people that I would need a whole book to document his efforts on our behalf? What about missionaries like Dennis Slattery and Ambrose Windbacher, who both died and were buried in Nigeria, serving and pouring their souls out for Black people? What about Frs Chapuli, Huddlestone, McDermott, Murphy, Flatley, Burke, Birmingham, and countless other missionaries who have done amazing things to help Africa and Africans? Apart from priests, I have also met ordinary folk that have been very kind to me, such as my professors at Wichita State University, most notably Drs Armstrong and very especially Dooley. I have also befriended countless other White people in my sojourn from Wichita, through Chicago, and to DC.
The historical genocides which I said could be traced to the White race are accidental, even though sad. Because of the potential for great accomplishments the White race has, they have it in their power to cause landslide good and, sadly and accidentally, landslide ill. It's like the girl in the nursery rhyme who, when she was good was very, very good, but when she was bad was horrid. In any case, I was wrong to say that the genocide in Rwanda and in Cambodia could be traced to White people. I mean, just because someone comes to your country and begins to measure your physical features in order to create a class system does not mean that when they leave you should go ahead and start fighting your countrymen. You have minds, and you can use them to understand and forgive. I mean, no one actually took your hand and lifted it to strike your kin. You did that yourself. Or the fact that someone tries to sell you an ideology, as in Cambodia, does not mean that you should turn on your own country people, the ones among them that subscribe to the ideology. The ideology in any case is a good one, and works well in the places where it is applied, and so was sold to you in good faith. You have minds, and you can use them to understand and excuse, if you believe the ideology would not work similarly in your own national context. So, I was wrong to say that all major genocides can be traced to White people. Plus, of course Europe cannot be held responsible for Africa's current state of inchoate development: there's corruption, nepotism, mismanagement, witchcraft and dissipation as well to blame for it. And so, I was largely being very silly when I wrote my August 30 post. Which is understandable. The essence of keeping a blog anyway is to track the emotional progress of the writer, albeit in a public forum like the Internet.
Plus, for every time there was colonization, or subjugation, or oppression, there was also evangelism, global integration, and trade. Also, not everyone participated in the oppressive or subjugating situations. During the Holocaust for example, some Germans did try to help the oppressed, by hiding Jews and others from the Nazis and helping with food and other necessities; some Germans dared to think differently. Many wanted to speak out against the Holocaust, but were too afraid and so fell into the what German political scientist Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann would call the "spiral of silence." Many ordinary White people, be it in Africa or Europe, simply wanted to live their lives unburdened by racism. Some were even too poor to afford slaves or servants in South Africa or in the New World. Plus, for every time there was eventual liberation for the oppressed, White people always worked in tandem with their Black and "colored" siblings to bring this state of freedom about. This is why Mandela received the Nobel Prize together with Frederick De Klerk, and not by himself. For every Black, Indian or Colored story of success, there is a White hand raised in victory as well, be it in South and other Africa; Asia, Europe, and the New World. And so, it is true to say that we are all in this story of freedom together; hand in hand.
One last thing. I believe that God is still going to use the White race powerfully in the future to effectively and eternally unite the world. The Son of the Spirit, who will be born in 2160, and who will be White - British and Italian by ethnic heritage - will usher in the Blessed World Institution. This institution will so holistically change the world for the better that, in the light of its beauty, everything else will pale and fade into the background. The Spirit's Son, himself a White man, will be the greatest person after Christ to walk the face of the earth. He will be the eternal pride of his race. And the soul that currently bears the inchoate consciousness of this person; the one who is aware of the spirit of the Spirit's Son is himself Black, which should speak ontological volumes.
It's all good. "All things work together for good for them that love God and are called to his purpose" (Rom. 8:28). I do love White people. I respect them as the most accomplished of all races; and I believe that through one of their own the world will be eternally changed for the better. Amen. Let the Son of the Spirit come. And by the way, I love myself - this is the most important thing! For we can only love others "as we love ourselves" (Mark 12:31). And so, for me it cannot be a question of avoiding those who cannot love me. Such people do not exist. And there is no need to fabricate them. For me, what life means is continuing to reach out in love; seeing things for what they truly are, and believing in the inherent similarity and everlasting goodness of all peoples: Descartes, Francis of Assisi, and I myself included.
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