The issues European countries have with racism (and I'm setting aside anti-Semitism for a moment) stem from issues with immigration that are less rooted in colonialism (although that's not completely to be excluded), and are more rooted in ancient tribalism that's been conflated with economic pressures. Yes, there is more bias against people of color in most European countries than there used to be, but it's still WAY less than here in the US.
I respectfully disagree that Europeans don't have to reckon with a history of racism. For centuries, the Europeans, in their colonization of almost every corner of the globe, set up brutal racist regimes that caused untold death and suffering. These things didn't happen on their continent, but the Europeans were the agents and propagators.
As the tiniest of examples of condoned racism, there is still a statue of King Leopold II in Brussels, giving prominence to a man who was responsible for the deaths of an estimated 10 million Africans in the Congo–more than the number of people who perished in the Holocaust. What does that say about current Belgian attitudes to race, that this statue is allowed to stand? And about Western Europe and the US, that we've erected cautionary museums about the Holocaust but nary a one about the human beings who lost their lives in Leopold's genocide?
No place on earth is immune to the insidious evils of "othering" another group of people based on some physical attribute in order to use them or otherwise exercise power of them.
I'm not excusing American racism. Every country would benefit from a collective self-examination about how it perpetuates racism, whatever the particular, local configuration.
I see that while we are trying to untangle the nuances of discrimination in the U.S. and around the world, we are ALL on the same side of the issue -- we want to see groups of people seen and treated equally and fairly.
We also want anti-racism in the U.S. to rise once and for all like the Me-Too movement has risen once and for all.
We are all on the same side here.
I no longer believe in anything the Abrahamic religions have to say, and I believe that unless organized religion of all types disappears, this inter-faith animosity (which is descended from the ancient tribalism I mention above) never will either.
Hear, hear! (I would have said "amen", but that would be a bit too ironic even for me. ;-) )
@lynnventura
There's in general lots of state-sanctioned antipathy worldwide directed at indigenous people too. In Australia, many of the protesters are carrying "Aboriginal Lives Matter" signs. Last fall, anti-government protesters in Chile flew the flag of the Mapuche people, who have never officially surrendered to the Chilean state. Mainland Europe doesn't get a free pass on this either; the Nordic countries have a shameful history of forcibly sterilizing Sami women and coercing Sami families to send their children to Christian boarding schools. We can go on and on with this tangent: Adivasi people in India, Ainu people in Japan, San people in Botswana, Mayan people in Guatemala and Mexico.
Yes, the brutalization of African Americans runs on a spectrum with the maltreatment of immigrants, and both of those behaviors are outgrowths of the nation state's "otherization" of tribal people who refuse to be assimilated into dominant societies.
I concede all that is in there, yet somehow that message has always been subjugated in favor of the more vengeful and inhospitable stuff.
Always?
Hmm...
Perhaps it depends upon the messenger.
Generally, that has not been my experience. Religious leaders who do spew "vengeful and inhospitable stuff" do exist unfortunately. Their actions grate on my soul like nails on a chalkboard.
That being said, I would say there are many religious leaders who do their best to emulate the best of the positive values their faith teaches. They just don't get the media attention.
I know many religious leaders who respect their brothers and sisters of different faith backgrounds and work together to help their neighborhoods and communities thrive in normal times as well as in times of crisis. I have witnessed first hand how various religious institutions have opened their communities to other faiths in need after mass shootings, unrest, disasters, challenging circumstances and simply to have dialogue and outreach to understand their neighbors better. A temple congregation displaced holding High Holiday services in the ballroom of a nearby church, free of charge. A church allowing another church of faith to use their kitchens to bake food for a festival, no payment expected. The many faith- based leaders who counsel all faiths after a wildfire, shooting, flood earthquake or other crisis. Community outreach programs run by or inside religious institution buildings such as AA, food banks, hotline centers, homeless shelters, rescue missions, teenage pregnancy homes, programs to feed children in need across the globe, programs to provide trade skills, educational supplies, education where no schools exist in developing countries, homes and so many other things. I am specifically thinking of ones that are sponsored by a religious institution without any missionary work involved or even allowed in many cases.
Always?
The man who influenced me more than any other teacher was Henri Nouwen, a Belgian Catholic priest who taught a course at Harvard Divinity School called Introduction to Spirituality. He was simply a light to everyone who met him.
Seminarians and Catholics adored him and flocked to his classes and bought his many books.
But I am of no religion and I learned more from this man than any religious teacher I've ever known. He was a Catholic priest who spoke to all people of all faiths.
It's synchronous that you brought Nouwen up. I just learned that the chaplain at my alma mater who introduced me to shamanism recently passed away. She grew up in the Catholic tradition, studied neuroscience in college, was ordained as a Presbyterian minister, and spent most of her life trying to bridge science and spirituality (she also made national headlines in the 1980s when she came out as bisexual while ministering to a congregation in the Albany area). Very much a Nouwen-like figure who deepened the breadth of my spiritual understanding.
I am always thinking of Trumps actions as distractions. Well, this Randy Rainbow is one of my favorites. It was made 2 weeks ago and there is a more recent one out now too. But I love "Distraction". aka Tradition from Fiddler on the Roof.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d02A9nmJxcM