Is White Supremacy Hiding Behind the Guise of “Diversity” [in US Churches]?

“The White Savior Industrial Complex”…

“The White Savior Industrial Complex is not about justice. It is about having a big emotional experience that validates privilege.” – Teju Cole

And, look, we’re all a little bit codependent (yes, non-POC too).

For many of us whose knee-jerk reaction is to reject this notion that we’re all somewhat “codependent,” think about marketing and how our world thrives off of this; for instance, a good example would be the makeup industry… I found this random comment on Tumblr a while back that I think best explains what I’m talking about here:

“if someone takes power away from you (something you naturally had) to give it back to you piece by piece and only if you do certain things your body YOU ARE NOT BEING EMPOWER YOU ARE BEING TRAINED… cause ppl still don’t get it and get defensive over their right to use makeup… which literally no one including OP is trying to take away from them: What proves that makeup doesn’t empower you – no matter who you are – is the simple fact that you could be feeling just as confident without it but you don’t because the people that are selling it to you are spending your money to make sure you don’t, not because we as humans naturally prefer painted faces! i’m not claiming that everyone feels ugly without it, i’m not saying everyone feels like they have to put on makeup… listen, no one said that… but clearly if you say makeup makes you experience empowerment, there’s a lack of it you feel with your bare and natural body. and that is not normal. that is not how its supposed to be and that is what’s infringing your rights in the first place, what’s taking power away from you and that’s also why makeup can only give back a bit of confidence that was stolen from you in the first place! [sic]”

So, while one might purchase a product to feel powerful, successful, beautiful, or confident… we must remember this isn’t a power we’re experiencing through purchasing it’s a temporary feeling we’re obtaining through marketing.

It’s the cliche quote that says, “YOUR VALUE DOES NOT DECREASE BASED UPON SOMEONE’S INABILITY TO SEE YOUR WORTH.”

Because, as most of us should already know, race isn’t a real thing.

I’m not saying it doesn’t matter… as it obviously does (aforementioned above).

What I’m saying is that it’s mostly just a means of acknowledging groups of people based off of otherwise arbitrary factors. And, similar to nationalities that are created and made up by men who draw lines on maps they are all just imaginary…

It’s mind-numbingly cyclical when one becomes dependent upon the intangibly complex (i.e. a sect of people defined solely by their skin color).

It gets even harder to comprehend when we recognize the fact that no one can strip power away from you and, similarly no one can give you more power than you already had, once before.

“Power” it’s something you naturally have through merely existing.

Now, what some could do is gaslight you into thinking or believing you don’t have power. Again, these are complex issues in which industries are spending billions to confuse us on.

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

— andy gill (@itsandygill) November 21, 2018

Is diversity an allusion simply used as a means of hiding their bigotry…? My answer is that I’ve personally found more energy in lighting candles than cursing the darkness that engulfs so many of us.

[1] it’s important to note that when I’m referring to “blackness” I’m referring to it in the ontologically symbolic sense of blackness, similar to how James Cone used it as synonymous to the israelites; that is, unless otherwise stated clearly that I’m referring to it as something else.