‘White-shaming’ and ‘diversity hires’ are no ways to fight racism

Earlier this year Matt Walsh, in collaboration with The Daily Wire, produced the film, Am I racist?  It came two years after his film, What is a woman? Money for old rope, you might imagine from the titles, but the times in which we live won’t accept old rope, they want invisible cord weaved together by unicorns, masquerading as old rope – which is harder to come by.  Be under no illusion (if that’s still possible), Walsh earned his money.

There was a time, not so long ago, when you could tell if someone was racist by their attitude and behaviour towards those of a race different to their own, but that became too difficult to spot as we all became more stupid.

So instead of forming our kids in faith and repairing a sub-optimal education system, new ways of spotting a racist had to be implemented.  One foolproof method adopted by a number of schools this October, is “Wear Red Day”. 

Remember that it’s not enough not to be racist, we have to be “anti-racist”.  How do we prove that we are “anti-racist”? Easy! Wear red.

With this simple trick, we no longer need to think critically, dialogue closely, speak the truth and love sacrificially, we can simply update our wardrobe with high-priced, low-quality merchandise from anti-racist charities. 

We send our children off to school in their red t-shirts and jumpers, watching as they gather into their self-segregated groups, listening as the red-clothed kids shout racial slurs to one another, and glancing at the poor kid in the white t-shirt get a kicking that will turn his t-shirt red, we can relax and know who the racists are by the clothes they wear.

This reluctance to deal with the complex realities of life, choosing instead to make a gimmick out of everything, is turning our brains to mush.

While travelling from Dublin to London with Ryanair recently (other low budget fully woke airlines are available) I saw a vision of this future. 

Having arrived early at the airport I tried to check in via machine.  I was told that check-in had not yet opened for my flight.  Standing 12ft away from me was a tall black man in a bright yellow jumper emblazoned with blue writing informing me that he was there to help. 

Taking his jumper seriously I approached and asked him when check-in would open for my flight.  He stared at me for longer than I was comfortable without speaking.  I asked again in case he hadn’t heard me.  After another six-second stare, he pointed across the room at a white woman wearing cabin crew uniform.  I explained to her that the tall man wearing a bright yellow jumper offering help had been unable to help me. 

She said: “He can’t speak English”. 

I then asked whether it might not be better to save the “I’m here to help” jumpers for those who can speak English, which he may be able to do at some point in the future.  She looked horrified.  “You can’t discriminate against somebody who is black,” she said.

“But you can and must discriminate based on competency in the workforce,” I suggested.

 “That’s racist” she declared.

And so it is that I, who was not racist in the 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s am now racist in the 2020s.  On returning home I relayed the story to a friend whose husband runs a large company and conducts final interviews for those put forward at previous stages.  She explained how he had to terminate an interview because the candidate put before him was woefully unable for the job he had applied for, a job which if done badly would cost lives.  But the candidate was black, and he now faces inevitable accusations of racism.  I suggested he get himself a red t-shirt quick smart.

The solution to our failure of love lies in a Christocentric theology which allows us to see Christ in others. This is what we should be teaching our young people in schools today.  Such a theology offers a true antidote to the poison of hatred, supremacy, envy and pride – all the things that see men turn against one another.  The seed of racism, as with every other sin, was planted in Eden where man turns from his creator and division occurs – Man separated from God, man from woman and body from soul.

Healing happens not by wearing red jumpers and arbitrarily giving people jobs based on race (thus placing them in a horrible and difficult situation) but by recognising the face of Christ in the other. 

Perhaps if our schools did more of that, we wouldn’t need gimmicks which only serve to mask the problems. 

In our dying culture now bleeding out, reaching for sticking plasters to patch a gaping wound will not work.  We need the divine physician, not one appointed to fill the latest quota.

(Photo by ISABEL INFANTES/AFP via Getty Images)

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