The Last Shall Be First

When I last wrote and referenced Black Lives Matter, I left out something crucial.

In the post-Vatican II Catholic Church there arose a concept termed “a preferential option for the poor.”  It means that God’s favor rests preferentially on the most injured people in any society. When I first heard the term, I asked what about me?  Doesn’t God love me?  I am not poor.

I have a brother and a sister and if one of them had a terminal illness I would pray for the one who is sick.  My preference would be the sick one.  Any parent would do the same. That does not mean that I do not love both of them equally.  It means the situation is not equal, not God’s love.

It is the same with Black Lives Matter.  White people hearing this phase rather naturally asked, “Don’t all lives matter? – Are you saying that my life does not matter?

All lives do matter, but history, especially recent history, tells us that some lives matter significantly more than others in many societies.  That is the essence of Black Lives Matter – the demand that white people recognize the profound cultural difference between the inherent value put on their lives, versus that of racial or other ethnic minorities.  Racism is a sickness, a disease and a crime, and its victims are black people and other minorities.  To continue to ignore racism’s consequences and its victims is to favor those who commit the crime of racism over the victims of that crime.

God’s favor rests with the victims of the crime of stripping the dignity from human beings, always has and always will.

Tom Howarth
Warren County, Virginia