Victimhood aint going to cut it any more Rev Lowery

Warning: this is not politically correct today--and I am not apologizing.

I tried to take in today to get a sense of what Inauguration Day meant to me. There is no denying what today means in the history of our country. It is a milestone in many different ways. Yes, it should be quite significant in terms of an bi-racial/black American becoming the 44th president.

But the message I am getting today is the following : Victimhood and self-righteous attitudes seem to go hand in hand.

Note Rev. Lowery's benediction that closed with the following lines:

Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get in back, when brown can stick around ... when yellow will be mellow ... when the red man can get ahead, man; and when white will embrace what is right. That all those who do justice and love mercy say Amen.

Rev. Lowery, I have a couple of questions. First, are you talking about UPS? Did UPS pay you for making that statement? (Brown can do a lot for you, but they would rather run off with your package than stick around--they get paid for being on the go.) Third, what is right? What does justice and mercy mean in your prayer?

I believe that you are guilty of prayer weaseling. You did not get my agreement in this prayer--you preached to me instead of praying for the country. We called it prayer weaseling in seminary because one is using prayer for something other than the purposes of prayer.

The victim card

Furthermore, I thought that you were guilty of playing the victim card, even on this day. Your prayer sounded pretty self-righteous out of such victimhood.

I think the victim thing was behind the "It's a black thing you don't understand" of the 1990's. It was an attempt to be existential. Oh yeah, it was existential.

However, I saw a number of African Americans (who called me a Euro-American) beat the dead horse of "it's a black thing" into dog food. In Social Work School. I had a very narcissistic black professor who I swear was trying to make us feel guilty for all the Jim Crow laws that were passed way before we were born. We were supposed to feel guilty because we were white.

Luckily, I had another black professor who was obviously more grounded and open and did not seem to act like I was responsible for all the history of the United States. It helped me see the distinction.

Today, victimhood was easy. It was apparently easy for Rev. Lowery.

Those who claim victimhood

Claiming victimhood is easy for any group that wants to claim it is oppressed. Victimhood is easy for many gays I have known who touted that anything in disagreement with them is Homophobia (and I found it very very difficult to see where they were snubbed, discriminated against or abused). Religious Fundamentalists claim victimhood. Victimhood is easy for Hamas who continues to exploit and waste the lives of the poor of the Gaza Strip. Victimhood is easy for a number of narcissts and borderline personalities I have had to deal with. However, the victimhood gets pretty old--especially for me.

Victimhood breeds self-righteous anger. Self-righteous anger is only so good for so long. Self-righteous anger often seems to lie beside self-loathing.

In today's world you may be a victim. You may be a victim of the recession and cut-backs at your job. You may be a victim of back-stabbing. You may be a victim of abusive family members and neighbors. You may be a victim of rape or violent crime.

But there is a difference between being a victim and latching onto victimhood. Being a victim is what happens. Holding onto victimhood is a negative choice.

Victimhood=irresponsibility

People who practice victimhood give themselves permission be irresponsible long after the traumatic event has happened. It gets old after awhile, and the one practicing victimhood only becomes a victim of themselves.

Reasonable people with fair self-esteem exit stage right because the are burned out dealing with the stress of an angry person. They see the different and are not going to tolerate it any longer.

In this day and age, I call upon people to take responsibility for themselves. We steer our own ships on the course of life. You and I will get made fools of, and we will be victims at some time or another.

We make choices every day. Sure we do not all have the same choices, but you and I must play the cards we are dealt every day. That is life--it is not particularly fair, whether you are white, black, yellow, red, or brown.

Be responsible for yourself today.

I am more of a culturalist than a structuralist in terms of my view of poverty, and I think that everyone willing to take the risk in choosing something better, can get somewhere different. It is all up to each one of us as it is the one life we get (and no I do not believe in reincarnation). This means, if you lose a job, look for another one. If you have bill collectors calling you, talk to them and do your best to negotiate deferrment of payments.

We all must decide what is right and what is just--even if it does not jive what Rev. Lowery thinks. Victimhood just is not it.