Maybe i'm just extra sensitive because of what's happening in Japan, but Elder Kikuchi's talk from the March Ensign really struck me hard. I wonder if it was a coincidence that this talk was published right before the devastation in Japan. He shared some of his experiences of being approached by people who told him they hated Japanese people. He also shared his own feelings towards Americans after his father was killed in the war, and how those feelings were changed after he met two American Mormon missionaries. I don't want to go on and tell you how he was able to change the hearts of those haters, but you can click here to read the article.
This talk also made me think of some experiences I have had recently in my own life. I have been in numerous situations recently where people have made extremely racist comments. I don't even want to repeat the comments here because it is too ugly to put out there. It is so shocking to me that people can be so ignorant and just completely clueless. This later turned into bashing everything about Utah. It was the first time I realized you can actually be so angry that you literally can't see straight. I ended up slamming my fists into the table and told them if they hate Utah they hate me too. It was not my proudest moment.
The quote that really stuck with me from this article was actually one from Pres. Hinckley:
"...no one who makes disparaging remarks concerning those of another race can consider himself a true disciple of Christ."
In the future, when I encounter the haters out there I really hope I can react the way Elder Kikuchi did - or at least avoid the fist banging next time.
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them." - Mother Theresa
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
6 comments:
Yeah, one of my pet peeves is when someone starts a comment with "now, I'm not racist, but . . ." And the Utah haters really get on my nerves too.
Yeah, totally don't get the Utah haters. I take it as a personal insult, too. Can't we all just get along?
Sorry you had to experience that terrible discussion.
BTW, I read the talk, and thought it was great. I guess that I sort of assume that racism is antiquated and people are more enlightened than that. It's sort of shocking to me that it's not the case in many situations. Sad.
Can't site the book right now but the Chapter is called "Charity sometimes faileth" in one of Sheri Dew's books. I LOVE it -- because a lot of us think that we are followers of Christ and good charitable people -- but then..."Charity sometimes faileth" She talks about Katrinas comment that she thought "we are more enlightened than that" but sadly -- we're not.:(
I think it's great you told the person that they may possibly not be right:) (okay the fist slamming, maybe not the best idea) but honestly, I wonder if we forget about how UN-charitable it is to judge. Judging race, sexual orientation, religious views...we seem to have a bit too much pride and don't always get it right.(and yes, I'm including good upstanding members of the LDS Church in there too:)
I'm not sure if your encounters were with LDS people BUT no matter what we are all in that judgmental mode sometimes -- and we gotta get out.:)
It seems to me that a lot of people are racist against people they've never met. For example, those people can make disparaging remarks about Utah in front of you, because they don't see you as a Utahan; you're just Jamie. The people they hate are the ones they've never met. There are racist people in regions where multiple races exist, but I bet they've never really met each other.
There are also people who buy into the stereotypes before experiencing the other people or places and then are never see past them. I've confronted people who say there's nothing to do in Utah by listing just a portion all there is, and then they say, Yeah, but Utah's boring.
Oops. Delete are and add of.
I have also found a lot of the haters only knowledge of Utah is from spending a short amount of time in Provo. People need to realize that all of Utah is not like Happy Valley.
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