Bias for the Oppressed

“Whatever you do for the least of these, you do for me.” - Jesus

Nothing we do is neutral. Everything is biased.

Something that has driven me ideologically for as long as I can remember is the desire for internal and interpersonal peace. This has often appeared as me staying out and above the fray of conflict, understanding both sides. My brain immediately empathizes with whoever I am listening to, and this empathy is a tool for me to create harmony between myself and the other person.

Conflict paralyzes me (just ask my wife). My brain begins to shut down when people are angry, and I go into full flight mode to escape the conflict. Working for interpersonal peace is deeply selfish because it is physically painful for me to exist around conflict. It is partly why I was shy as a child, as I shut down at the slightest hint of conflict.

There are all sorts of strategies I put forth to escape conflict, and none of them are very useful or helpful. One of the worst of these strategies is the exercise of neutrality. I can be the Switzerland of any conversation, staying out of the war while relaxing behind the mountains constructed in my brain to maintain inner peace. I am the best at understanding, utilizing empathy to protect myself from conflict.

Frankly, people love this about me, and I love this about myself. People feel safe around me because I listen to them, and I truly seek to understand them. Despite the selfish nature of my empathy, it still drives me to understand everyone I meet, and I think this is a good thing.

But it is also one of the worst parts about me.

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Neutrality is a lie. Everything we do is biased.

Even my work for inner and interpersonal peace, often achieved through pursuing neutrality, is colored by bias. My empathy can only go so far because I am still filtering your story through my own experiences and the stories that have shaped me. There is no such thing as objectivity, which makes what I am about to say very important:

We must embrace our biases, but it is important which biases we embrace. It is important that we critically examine whom our biases benefit and how we are using them to benefit them.

Our supposed neutrality and objectivity are simply impossible and can ultimately be damaging. As Elie Wiesel wrote in his book Night:

“We must take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere.”

For myself, the side I must take is clear. My faith has led me to a conclusion that has radically transformed the way that I live. This conclusion has forced me out of my comfort zone, away from neutrality. Here is the conclusion that I came to:

We must take the side of the oppressed. Whoever is marginalized, disadvantaged, or oppressed should be our priority in what we believe and how we act.

There are systems that have been constructed to benefit some and disadvantage others. Every society throughout history has been constructed this way, and it has even worked its way into the functions of the Church. It is a shame that many followers of Jesus, who was himself a poor man existing under the cruel boot of an empire, have become tools of the Empire to further marginalize and harm others.

The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, slavery in America, the Manifest Destiny, the Holocaust, and countless other atrocities have all been justified and committed by people who have gone to a church on Sundays, sang hymns, prayed prayers, and gave their tithes. Even today, many Christians fail to fully love their neighbors by supporting a system that benefits some and destroys others. I was a part of this system, and in some ways, still am. It is a process to unlearn destructive beliefs and habits while detaching from systems that are harmful.

We have to examine our beliefs and actions and lean into the bias for the oppressed. We must ask ourselves, “Does this belief exclude and marginalize others? Does this action help the oppressed or the oppressor? Who exactly is disadvantaged here?”

For myself, I can no longer be neutral, seeking to appease the oppressor and the oppressed alike. I must take a side. I must interfere.

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People love my ability to empathize and understand them. I work so hard to reflect whoever I am with in an effort to make them feel comfortable. Friends and family loved when my words and actions appeased rather than interfered.

When I chose to unequivocally work for the liberation of the oppressed, some people started to turn on me. Perhaps you, dear reader, are one of those people. If so, please understand that I choose to speak up out of care for the most vulnerable, not out of spite for the oppressor. (Well, sometimes it is out of spite, but that is when I am selfish and unwise.)

It was and is so difficult for me when people become angry at what I say. Conflict paralyzes me, but I am learning to fight for what matters. I can no longer live in fear of others’ condemnation.

Whenever we speak up against power, power strikes back in a million clever ways. My choice to choose a side, to forsake neutrality for the sake of the oppressed, cost me relationships with family, friends, and others. I will certainly miss out on opportunities that would have otherwise been available to me.

But none of this is about me. It is about us, and I will always fight for us, for our collective good. None of us wins until everyone wins. When one part of the body hurts, all parts suffer.

Let us work together for the sake of those who are disadvantaged, creating a system that benefits everyone.