Marginalization

Marginalization

…the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them. Luke 7:22

The epigraph is a portion of Jesus’ answer to two disciples of John the Baptist who were sent to determine if Jesus was the Messiah they had been waiting for. Jesus provides a list of some of the impacts of his ministry, all of which are consistent with what the Old Testament prophets identified as hallmarks of the Messiah: the blind see, the lame walk, the unclean are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead live again, and the poor are comforted. These afflictions were among those that marginalized people in Jesus’ day, along with the orphans, widows, those possessed by demons, and other situations that distinguished them from the societal majority. They were uncomfortably different. Most folks didn’t know what to do for or with them, so they ostracized them. Then, as now, those with an awkward trait were marginalized – treated as less-than – and prevented from full participation in the normal routines of their society. Today, we see marginalization occurring as a result of one’s skin color, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, political or religious affiliation, personal hygiene, native language, mental or physical health, and countless other characteristics by which people differ from each other. It is as if being included into the life of a community requires uniformity instead of finding unity in diversity. The life and teachings of Jesus focused on the marginalized of his society, intending to show that regardless of one’s outward appearance or life-situation, there is always a place of welcome in the kingdom of God.

In my hometown, there is a church on a main thoroughfare with a sign on which they often display marginalizing summaries of their religious views. On a recent Saturday, the community’s annual Gay Pride Parade was occurring just down the street from this church. They chose to proclaim “Perversion is not anything to be proud of” on their sign, aimed at supporters of the LGBTQ+ community as they celebrated Gay Pride month. Apparently, the parade and other Pride events offended that particular church’s beliefs about God and were contrary to their interpretation of a few controversial passages of scripture. They left the message up for long enough for those with a different view to spray-paint over the words not anything, making the sign read, “Perversion is to be proud of.” Within a couple of days, the church had cleaned the sign and reposted their original message. This is an example of people with different understandings marginalizing others by trying to make them look bad, stupid, uninformed, or otherwise contemptable. While I do not agree with the church’s message, and while I believe those types of displays cast an unfortunately wide and misleading net of closed-minded judgmentalism over all churches, I also recognize that defacing the sign did nothing to encourage greater tolerance by either group toward the other. In fact, the dueling actions likely only entrenched both sides even deeper into their belief that the other side should be marginalized. Personally, I believe public displays of prejudice and marginalization, whether along a busy road or in a social media post, say more about the insecurities of the one posting the message than about the cause, position, or people with whom they differ.

We marginalize others because we feel threatened. The perceived and/or real threats may be financial, as when accommodating someone might increase taxes; moral, as when the behavior of another violates ones core beliefs; physical, as when we fear another might cause physical harm; or simply when we find the way someone smells, dresses, talks, looks, or behaves offensive. When we point fingers of unworthiness at others it can make us feel stronger, justified, in control, or superior. Marginalization, however, is also sometimes an act of compensation for what we fear, often subconsciously, is a personal weakness in ourselves. Our shadow self – that part of us we try to repress and hide from others – is often revealed in what we oppose, particularly in what we strongly oppose. For example, psychologists have long postulated that homophobic attitudes have their root in doubts about one’s own sexual leanings. Carl Jung is credited with saying, “Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves.” When someone or something irritates us in a significant way and we fail to first seek the source of the irritation within ourselves, we are prone to marginalizing that other person or issue in some way.

If marginalization is a reaction to perceived external threats, then its antidote requires internal work by recognizing we are all among the walking wounded trying to navigate our way through life. When we marginalize others, we perpetuate the marginalization of the parts of ourselves crying out for acknowledgement, and no healing occurs. The life and teachings of Jesus encourage us to constantly widen our circle of acceptance, both of ourselves and others.

This is the 20^th in a series titled The New-Old Social Pandemic. The opinions expressed here are mine. To engage with me or to explore contemplative spiritual direction, contact me at ghildenbrand@sunflower.com.