On Personal Responsibility...

Hello, friends!

The past few weeks have been a blur. They really have. Between the non-indictment of Officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson earlier last week and non-indictment of Officer Daniel Pantaleo in the death of Eric Garner in Long Island yesterday, I have been having a lot of heart wrenching conversations and thoughtful conversations with a lot of different people in person and via Facebook. I have also been reading a lot of articles online as well as the comments; some helpful, most not. I attended a protest on Mizzou's campus on Tuesday and will be leading a prayer vigil tonight close to campus. My heart is heavy not just because my brothers and sisters in the Black community are hurting but also because of the apparent blindness or dismissive-ness to the issues of systematic injustice that many in the country feel.


One phrase that I have heard and read over and over again from a number of different people is the phrase "personal responsibility." From what I can gather, the phrase can be summed up by saying, "Don't do stuff that will get you in trouble and you won't get in trouble." This phrase has taken many different forms in different weeks. In the case of Mike Brown, it went something along the lines of either, "He shouldn't have resisted arrest," "well, that's what you get for robbing a store," or, "when will people learn to never resist the police?" In the case of Eric Garner, the idea of personal responsibility has taken the form of, "Well, he shouldn't have been selling cigarettes illegally," and "if only he hadn't started a confrontation with the police."

Disclaimer: Understand that I am entering this conversation not exactly fully a part of either the Black or White community. I have experienced both the hardships of being a minority but also the benefits of being considered the "model minority." I know that my experiences are imperfect but I'd like to think that my various conversations with lots of different people gives me a certain perspective.

Personal responsibility is a very powerful and important thing. Acting in a way that is "above reproach" and represents Christ, specifically for Christians, is an important value. There are consequences for our actions and we need to understand that sometimes there are repercussions. Oftentimes, those repercussions are fair and justly deserved. Each of us needs to be pursuing a live worthy of the calling we have received (again, especially Christians).

With that being said, there are two major problems that I have with the "personal responsibility" narrative. One is of fairness and the other is of empathy.

Here's the truth: White privilege and personal responsibility are inextricably tied to one another and the standard for "personal responsibility" is higher for Black folk (especially in regards to interactions with law enforcement) than White folk. The hashtag #CrimingWhileWhite highlights anecdotal evidence of White folk getting away with crimes that many Black folk would almost certainly be for in similar circumstances. Of course, anecdotal evidence will only get you so far but there are statistics too. Whites use drugs at a higher rate than Blacks but are incarcerated 50% less. A study by the US Department of Labor found that Whites are less likely to be pulled over than blacks but more likely to be given a warning as opposed to a ticket. Cars driven by Blacks were also more likely to be searched than cars driven by Whites.

The point I'm trying to make is that the personal responsibility narrative is ultimately an unfair one because the standards for "acting responsibly" are different for Black people than they are for White people. Should Black folk use drugs, speed, shoot people, etc.? Of course they shouldn't. The problem is that they are being disproportionately punished for their actions as opposed to their White counterparts. The narrative also breaks down because there are plenty of legal things that Black folk cannot do (like holding toy guns in the case of Tamir Rice and John Crawford) that get them killed. It's a matter of systematic injustice.

Secondly, the problem that I have with the "personal responsibility" is that it reeks of moral authority and lacks any sense of empathy. Let's try some hypothetical conversations:
Me: Why are you so angry?
You: The daughter of a friend of mine was sexually assaulted and there are going to be no charges pressed.
Me: Oh yeah! I heard about that. You should tell her to stop dressing like a slut.

Let's try another one:
Me: Hey, what's wrong?
You: I have lung cancer.
Me: That's what you get for smoking.

What would your reaction be towards me if that conversation actually happened? You'd want to kick me in the face, wouldn't you? You would call me callous and uncaring. You would question whether or not I really cared about your well-being, or if I really cared about you at all. In both of those cases, you could argue for "personal responsibility" but it is totally unhelpful and shows no compassion or empathy. THAT is the problem with the personal responsibility narrative. It does nothing to show our Black brothers and sisters that we grieve with them.

A friend asked me which is more helpful to talk to young black men about, white privilege or personal responsibility. I understand his point that spending too much time focusing on "blaming Whitey" doesn't actually uplift the community. However, I would like to pose the opposite question: Which is more helpful to talk to White folk about in order to bring reconciliation, white privilege or Black personal responsibility? I would argue the former more than the latter.

Have an excellent day!

~Adam