If you see the world through the lens of material power, it will appear as if "oppressors" -- real or imagined -- are having a hell of a time; & all you need to do to change things is to gain material power.

But if you have soul power, you understand that this is a distortion.

One of the most tragic things that both Dr. King and James Baldwin pointed out about white america in the 50s and 60s was that the sin of racism was its own punishment, not just for blacks but also for whites. It degraded and tyrannized the soul.

So there was a real mourning that took place in certain civil rights circles that were steeped in a moral tradition. This mourning was as much for the white man as it was for the black man. And in that mourning was agape love. *This* was the reason nonviolence was practiced.

It seems that now, in too many of our conversations about racism, there are many well-meaning people who are utterly ignorant of that tradition, who claim to want to preserve black life, but who know so little about the spiritual gifts & cultural revolution that has come from it.

This is not a statement meant to idolize or deify us. We are human beings & our culture is teeming w/ the same complexity, tragedy, & beauty that teems in others.' But there is something very beautiful, unique, & resilient that's come out of the AA tradition & it must be taught.

I feel like @DrIbram is in pain. We should critique his ideas when appropriate; and we should also love him.