We have all been watching the events unfolding in the United States following the death of George Floyd at the hands of the police. The systemic and enduring racism against people of colour in the United States does not possess an exact parallel here, but there is no question that our indigenous brothers and sisters continue to experience significant racism today, as well as suffering the damaging effects of a legacy of violence, marginalisation and dispossession. 

I have had mixed emotions as I have watched the protests take place both in the US and here over the past couple of weeks. There is something important to pay attention to when people are so unhappy, so angry and sad that they are prepared to risk their own lives to protest when the danger surrounding COVID-19 remains so real. I believe that decision is deeply unwise due to the need to protect the health of others during this pandemic, but it would be a terrible mistake to dismiss the issue because people have made that decision. While we might find the timing of these protests problematic, we cannot as Christians dismiss the injustice that people are trying to draw our country’s attention to through these protests (I also think it would be naïve to think that some people and groups have not taken advantage of this situation too, but this does not invalidate the issues at stake).  

The Gospel for last Monday (June 8) was the Beatitudes (Matt 5). The Beatitudes invite us to hold some difficult things together as Christians, a holding together which is nonetheless deeply pertinent to the situation we find ourselves in. For example, Jesus tells us that those who hunger and thirst for justice are blessed, and so protest for the purpose of drawing attention to this issue is a legitimate response to racism and systemic injustice. The Beatitudes also tell us the peacemakers are also blessed; which makes it clear that violent demonstrations can never be the way of the followers of Jesus. 

The decision whether to protest or not at this time is an important moral decision, because it requires the weighing up of different moral goods, as people protest against the suffering of our indigenous brothers and sisters in the context of the risk to the health of many others through the transmission of COVID-19. I personally think that the decision to protest now fails to recognise the threat it poses to another vulnerable group in our community, namely the elderly and unwell, who are most at risk from COVID-19. Should there be further mass protests once this risk has passed, I will happily attend to express my solidarity with my indigenous friends, and all who experience racism in our country.

There is too a sense in which protesting is easy… it is important because it says to our government that these issues matter to us, but it is of course much harder to do something tangible about these issues. At the very least, we can and should as Christians call out racism wherever we see it, whether that is in relation to our indigenous brothers and sisters, or if it concerns Asian students in our country who can in no way be held responsible for the spread of COVID-19, or in any other circumstance. For the love of Jesus is blind to the colour of one’s skin.