Ah. Hello, neglected blog. I have missed updating you…
I’ve been spending (perhaps too much time) on tiktok and updating that with short things I’d normally use you for… but don’t worry, you aren’t forgotten… just neglected…

I’m always fascinated at how self-centered we humans can be.
Or more accurately, how engrossed and trapped we are in our own small bubbles. It’s not wrong, per se.

But I’ve met too many people who deny injustices in the world because it doesn’t happen in theirs.

I remember having a conversation with a few church folks. I can’t remember the setting for the life of me and how/why I was in this group. But we were talking about how the UMC, often actively, excludes LGBT people in the life of the local church and the denomination. This lady pushed back (and I knew which church she belonged to) and accused me of making all this up because “my church doesn’t and would never do such a thing. We’d welcome everyone.” (Narrator: her church, in fact, does do such a thing and does not welcome folks who are LGBT. Well, they do welcome money/donations from LGBT but would prefer that they remain quiet about who they are).

Or the time I was talking about micro-aggressive acts people of color experience in church settings. Again, that was impossible because this person would never commit such acts ergo no one does.

What made me think about this (enough to write it down) was, actually, a stupid meme.

Now this was from the horrible movie X-Men 3.
Just a quick recap: there’s a rumor that someone has created a cure for mutants to no longer be mutants.
Rogue is wanting a cure.
Storm (Halle Berry) is adamant there is no need for a cure because there’s nothing wrong with Rogue or anyone.

BUT. But.
Rogue’s mutant power is that she absorbs the energy (and life) of anyone she touches with her bare skin. She has to go through life without the power of touch. Anyone she becomes close to — she is a threat to their life because an accidental brush of skin to skin can be a death sentence to her loved ones. (In the comic book, she wears a full on body suit that keeps her powers in check).
Touch is such a powerful act.
A lot of Jesus’ miracles involved touching those he were healing because many of them were deemed unclean to touch.
To go through life without being able to touch anyone or any living thing… like Rogue can’t have pets either… is a terribly lonely existence.

Storm? Her power is that she can manipulate weather.
She can bring about a storm. She can stop a storm.
She can create a gust of wind. She can make it rain (actual rain, water from the sky). A storm forming to ruin your plans of an outdoor activity? Storm can make sure you have a nice sunny day.

Of course from Storm’s view — there is nothing wrong with Rogue or any other mutant. Why would you even entertain the idea of a “cure” when life has given everyone of the mutants great power? Because she takes for granted things that Rogue can only dream of having — she dismisses Rogue’s desire for a cure, in fact shaming her for thinking such a way.
Because Storm has had a completely different experience as a mutant, her privilege prevents her from seeing the plight of other mutants who don’t share her such freedom with their powers.

All the X-Men movies aside (besides the first two and Days of the Future Past — because let’s face it. Fox absolutely mangled the X-Men franchise and let’s hope Marvel can give the franchise the justice it is due…) X-Men were my favorites growing up. It wasn’t until my 20’s when I realized that it was often a commentary on society and ‘mutant’ could be a metaphor and allegory for anyone who is marginalized and oppressed in society.
Though it wasn’t Stan Lee’s original intention, Magneto was/is a Malcom X to Professor X’s Martin Luther King Jr in their approach for justice.

See, Mom and Dad? Comic books weren’t just a waste of time…

The other thing is, though, we really need to listen to those who share their story. Like actively listening to them; empathetically listening to their story and experience.
And resist the temptation to dismiss someone’s story/experience simply because we’ve never experienced it.
Just because it never happened to us doesn’t mean it never happens to anyone.

It often comes as a surprise, most of the times, we really aren’t the center of the universe. Our experiences is not a one-size-fits-all. Nothing in this world rarely is…

Anyway, I’m sure that there are plenty of typos and grammatical errors in this post. Instead of correcting them, I’m just gonna ask for forgiveness. It’s been a while posting a blog outside of life milestones/celebrations. I mean, I still have my monthly articles for Rethink Church but I have the great Ryan Dunn who edits what I send in.
This blog? I have to edit my own stuff. And English is a tricky language.
All that to say, thank you for reading.