Deep In My Heart, I’m A Terrible Man: Thoughts On My Dark Heart, Racism & The 2024 Election
Deep
in my heart
Deep in my heart
Deep in my heart
I'm a terrible man
Deep in my heart
Deep down in my heart
I know what I am
- Deep Down, The Devil Makes Three
A number of years ago I was at a Benedictine retreat center for a training. During one of the sessions the speaker, one of the leaders of the retreat, began saying things that were stereotypes of the black community. I remember being unnerved by the words I was hearing and even labeled them as racist in my mind, but I didn’t say a word. I silently sat in the classroom and listen to the lecture. I never addressed it. I just let it happen. Later in the retreat the comments were addressed and an apology made but it was not because I had gone to the speaker or another leader and prompted a discussion. I did nothing.
Over the years I have reflected back on that moment with immense shame. That moment haunts me. I am embarrassed that I said nothing. It is something I carry. I vowed to never stand idly by and let a racist action or words go unchallenged. I thought I was doing pretty good with this vow until today.
Last week I was in a meeting where I could have spoken up about a racist reality and I didn’t. In that meeting a long discussion was had about a white male client departing. In contrast clients of color have departed many times without a discussion. The imbalance was clear and implicated the organization. The importance placed on a white man, when compared to BIPOC persons, exposed a white-dominate / racist way of being in the world. In this space I said nothing. I attended and departed without making a single comment.
In a follow-up meeting a colleague called me (and the rest of those in attendance) out for our behavior. As the reprimand was shared a feeling and a phrase welled up in me. I was frustrated that I had not said anything (again) and thought “Damn it, it happened again.”[1]
The band The Devil Makes Three has a song titled “Deep Down” where the lyrics say, “Deep in my heart, I'm a terrible man. Deep in my heart. Deep down in my heart, I know what I am.” Those that know me are aware that I often tie life to song s and song lyrics. As I sat with the reality that I had once again not stood against racism, and even failed to see it, the confession found in this lyric was resonating in me. My lack of action forced me to realize that deep down in my heart I am something I desire not to be - a racist.
Parker Palmer notes, “One of the things this society is most deficient in is safe spaces for truth-telling about the condition of our souls.”[2] He’s not wrong. We want to keep our deep dark thoughts to ourselves and out of the light. We desire to live in denial that deep in our hearts we are terrible people. Palmer’s observation is a statement on confession. We need more spaces to say the truth about what is happening deep in our hearts. In the case of race in America we need confessional spaces now more than ever.
If you were to ask me on any given day if I’m a racist I would answer no. Internally I might even answer in true Roy Kent mode “Fuck No!” On the outside I appear to be anti-racist or an ally. However, my inaction in the face of racist words or a white dominate system gets to the truth underneath. Raised in an America that gives preference to white, male, heterosexual, cis gender, Christian men I have a winning hand everywhere I go. The culture teaches me, and everyone, that I am the alpha and gives me privilege at every turn. I have so internalized this message that despite my best efforts, and heart felt desire to be otherwise, I still think and act in racist ways. I am ashamed of this, but “Deep down in my heart, I know what I am.”
As I write this we sit on the eve of the 2024 Presidential Election. This election cycle has exposed, yet again, the racist patterns in America. One candidate has gone out of the way to demonize and blame persons of color for every problem in the country. That same candidate has spread racist lies and perpetuated decades old white supremacist tropes. The other candidate has had to defend themselves repeatedly because their mere existence on a Presidential as a Black/Asian Woman irritates many in the dominate culture. Like it or not, race is a huge issue in this election and it will be in the weeks and months after the election.
No matter who wins the election there will be more moments for me to raise my voice in opposition to racism. There is fear that if Kamala Harris wins there will be backlash against black women and BIPOC people. There is the very real threat of racially based mass deportations if Trump is elected. I’m sure there are more racial reactions to the election than just those, but my point is that in the coming weeks I know I will be faced with another opportunity (or many) to voice my opposition to racism. Will I stand by and say nothing as I have before, or will I speak? I want to believe that I will speak out. It is my prayer that I will find the courage to resist the evil of the racism in front of me. What about you?
Joel K
[1] I used the word Damn here not because of my normal potty-mouthed existence, but because if anything deserves to be sent to hell it is racism and my lack of action in the face of it.