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Talion
I, too, have absolutely no idea why there weren't more blacks there at that Mass for Life. The only black people I saw - with one exception, a black woman - were ordained deacons helping the celebrants at the altar. (You are probably aware that in the Catholic Church, deacons are ordained rather than, say, elected to a Board of Deacons, as they would be in many Protestant churches. As such, they get to assist in some ways at Mass - like in the reading of the Gospels, and they are charged with declaring that the Mass is ended.) I should have made that part clearer in the original blog post.
Fortunately, the coverage of the March for Life - as opposed to the Mass for Life last night (1/21/2007) - is a bit more balanced. I'm seeing more blacks on the dais at the rally, and members of other Christian denominations (other than Catholicism) have been involved in the March. EWTN, which covers the March for Life every year, is making a point of getting Hispanic reporters to help cover the March and its associated rally. (Occasionally, Nellie Gray - the lead organizer of the March - will even get Hasidic Jews to speak at the rally.) My remarks applied specifically to the Mass for Life. Why this has to be a whites-only liturgy - or what amounts to a predominantly white thing - I don't know. I hate thinking of the pro-life movement as something implicitly designed to increase our population at your expense.
As far as the economic-class issue goes, I agree with you, to some extent. We do tend to segregate ourselves according to economic class (as much as according to race and ethnic group). I hope, in my own small way, to change that for the better. I just hope that what I do isn't too little, too late.
posted by
kidnykid
on January 22, 2007 at 10:19 AM
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kidnykid
I was born and raised in the Bible Belt and attended a Catholic college. These experiences showed me there are plenty of black people who are most certainly against abortion. I've found the same typically broad categories that describe where white people stand on this issue, i.e. the more conservative, "religious" versus the more liberal, "intellectuals," also applies to black people as well. It's definitely not a white only thing, but I have no idea why more blacks didn't participate in the rally.
As time passes, as we move farther away from race being the thing that somehow defines our "worth," it's being replaced by class. The few who belong to the highest economic group will enjoy the best of everything society and the world has to offer, from food to the latest techno-gadgets to health care. Those in the middle will experience similar benefits, not the best, but certainly not the worst, while struggling to either get a few rungs higher or to prevent sliding a few rungs lower. The lower classes will suffer with the least of everything, the leftovers, the crumbs that have "trickled down" from those above. It won't be a matter of black or white skin, but the green in a person's wallet that determines where he/she stands.
posted by
Talion
on January 22, 2007 at 8:31 AM
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You know, Taffy...
Based on what I saw last night (1/21/2007) at the Basilica of the National Shrine, I have to wonder if you're not right about the pro-life movement being xenophobic. Just seeing one black person in the assembly - most of the blacks I saw there were on the altar, as ordained deacons - and no Asians or members of other races/ethnic groups makes you look positively prophetic!
posted by
kidnykid
on January 22, 2007 at 7:50 AM
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My opinion :~)
As an African American person I can only say that I think many African American's aren't necessarily "Pro Life." They don't want to become a part of a formal movement. I know that in my everyday life I see tons of young women having babies while they are in college. There seems to be no thought to what's going to happen in the future. There's no thought of family planning & when an opportune time would be to get pregnant. Perhaps it's wrong but whenever I see a young woman in college without a steady boyfriend I can't help but think "why did she do that." I'll go out on a limb here and say that I do believe that the Pro Life movement is xenophobic.
posted by
Taffy000
on January 22, 2007 at 7:37 AM
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