Some of you may remember Lulu’s song in a 1967 film To Sir With Love.
Those schoolgirl days of telling tales and biting nails are gone; But in my mind I know
they will still live on and on; But how do you thank someone who has taken you from
crayons to perfume? It isn’t easy, but I’ll try . . . . . .
This film that portrays social and racial issues in an inner-city school is based on an
autobiographical novel by E.R. Braithwaite with the same title (1959).
While waiting a long period to hear about an engineering job he applied for, a black immigrant
from Guyana starts teaching high school students in the tough East End of London, most of who
have been rejected from other schools for their disruptive behaviours. He loses his temper one
day and changes his teaching method.
Instead of using textbooks, he draws them to discussions on whatever issues they wish to
discuss, and he treats them as adults and expects them to behave as such.
In the end, those students are transformed by the inspiration of this teacher, and he is chosen as
the Ladies Choice at the graduation dance. The final scene is about him tearing up the
engineering job offer that eventually arrived, reconciling to the work he has ahead of him.
Exploring the story behind the book, however, Braithwaite expressed his detest about the film
version, considering it too sentimental, objecting to his mixed-race romance being given lower
prominence in the film. In 1973, the South African ban on Braithwaite’s books was lifted, and he
subsequently visited the country. While there, he was granted the status of “honorary white”
which gave him significantly more privileges than the indigenous black population, but less than
the whites, an honorific he found detestable.
Let us ponder.
Have you had any experiences of being pre-judged yourself? How did it make you feel when
being prejudged and discriminated? And, how did you react to the situation?
When it comes to discrimination categories, the words that spring to mind may include:
Race, national or ethnic origin, colour of skin, language, religion, age, sexual orientation,
gender identity
Furthermore, marital status, disability, genetic characteristics, physicality, pardoned conviction, attires, financial status, homelessness, tribalism . . .
These categories follow certain stereotypes.
The term stereotype derives from the Greek words στερεός (stereos), meaning "firm, solid," and
τύπος (typos), “impression,” hence solid impression on one or more ideas or theories.
Stereotypes are influenced by our values, beliefs, and membership in social groups. People
develop stereotypes through a variety of means, through information that has been provided to
them, sometimes learning from watching television, and other times developing their own
impressions from repeated interactions.
Our minds are busy taking copious amounts of data and simplifying and structuring it so that we
can make sense of the world.
Research talks about this categorical thinking, which creates dangerous consequences. “When
we categorize, we compress category members, treating them as more alike than they are; we
amplify differences between members of different categories; we discriminate, favouring certain
categories over others; and we fossilize, treating the categorial structure we’ve imposed as
static.” *
Rather than judging others based on our own stereotypes, we need to increase our selfknowledge.
Self-knowledge, especially about our own limitations, can help us to have tolerance and
understanding of others and to enhance an ability to empathize with situations others may face.
Asking questions and learning about ourselves and others are a key to overcome relationship
challenges in life. Although discussing bias, prejudice, and stereotypes, especially around racial
tensions, might sound impolite, having conversations about these issues goes a long way to
overcome such attitudes in ourselves. This is quintessential to build a world of harmony, peace,
and love.
Sadly, the whole human history has been patched up with various divisions and constant
skirmishes, which we can find their roots back in Genesis from the story of the Babel Tower, in
the desire to turn away from God to be god for ourselves (Gen 11:1-11).
In fact, diverse traditions, cultures, and languages with which we worship our Creator are part of
the rich blessings of the world. And, the Book of Revelation gives us a glimpse of vision to be
reunited as citizens of God’s Kingdom.
After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every
nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before
the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud
voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the
Lamb." (Rev 7:9-10)
So, how do we start our conversation about finding unity in diversity? Or, to put it more bluntly,
what should we do to eradicate social discriminations against other human fellows?
I believe that empathy, genuine curiosity, patience, kindness, and being attentive to God for the
sake of others will help us to build a bridge to embrace otherness. Perhaps we can learn more
about each other from our human common sufferings more than different human conditions or
backgrounds. Therefore, no more categorization!
Today’s Gospel passage (Luke 10:25-37) helps us to reflect on the Christian ethic to love,
embrace, and respect rather than judge.
Being located between Judea and Galilee, Samaria was not the most common route for the Jews
to pass through because of Jewish hostilities towards Samaritans. Samaritans were a mixed race
developed as a result of intermarriages between earlier Hebrews of the northern kingdom of
Israel and the Assyrian settlers in Israel following the captivity of the northern kingdom in 722-
721 B.C.
In antiquity, the Samaritans are characterized as idolaters. Also, religiously, they are considered
as foreigners, more liberal than the Jews.
Prejudice is an old problem, causing divisions, resentment, and ignorance. It even existed in
Jesus’ time.
The Bible teaches that people were made in the image of God, which makes them inherently
valuable. And, the Good Samaritan embodied Jesus’ teaching: love your neighbour. Also this
story teaches that we should always do to others what we would like done to us, seeing people as
people, rather than as a category. It means acting in love, valuing, protecting and helping others.
There are the everyday slights, indignities, putdowns and insults that people experience in their
day-to-day interactions with individuals who are often unaware that they have engaged in an
offensive or demeaning way. This is called microaggressions. It can be as overt as watching a
person of colour in a store for possible. Anyone can experience microaggressions in their life
time, whether marginalized or not, even when surrounded by the group of people you feel
belonged to, because you encounter otherness.
When the context is different or not shared, such as culture, community or history, we may
misunderstand one another or misinterpret things or situations.
When we love and care deeply, putting ourselves in other shoes, we begin to understand and
embrace the human flaws as we all have flaws. Love is not necessarily a born nature but
something that needs to be nurtured.
The Samaritan chose to do the right thing, helping the person, beaten and stripped on the road,
who was ignored by all the passers-by, including the priest and the Levite. Imagine the
Samaritan did not stop. What would have happened? Imagine you yourself are the victim.
The world is not bad as we see random acts of kindness around us. Last week, there was the
news about a group of five strangers who rushed into action to help rescue a man from a burning
car on the side of a busy Toronto highway.
The man in the car was experiencing a medical episode. Their harrowing rescue was captured on
video. One man found a hammer and banged the car window to save the person inside the car,
and it was a miraculous rescue just before the car was engulfed in flames. These brave citizens
didn’t think about their own lives in the moment of such a dangerous situation.
To do justice means to do righteous acts, to be merciful. To do justice is not to categorize the
neighbour but to be the neighbour. To do justice means to live the way Jesus lived and taught, to
bring peace, and to redeem.
One theologian explains justice this way: “Justice is the body of love; love the soul of justice.
Justice is the flesh and love; love is the spirit of justice. When they are separated, we have a
moral corpse. Justice without love is brutality” (John Dominic Crossan, God and Empire).
We choose to love. We choose to forgive. We choose to help others. We choose to be kind and to
encourage others. We give up our selfishness for the wellbeing of others.
And, faith requires such discipline. And those gentle, loving, selfless, peaceful, and just actions,
as shown by the Good Samaritan, can shape our faith.
We are what we do, not what we say we’ll do. And, as Aristotle said, “We are what we
repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” Faith is not a simple belief system, but
a habit in which we transfer our belief into an act.
We are faced with many divides today, driven by fear and hatred. Now is time to stop and look
around and listen to the Holy Spirit, “to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our
God” (Mic 6:8).
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Footnotes
* Bart de Langhe and Philip Fernbach, The Dangers of Categorical Thinking, Harvard Business Review, 2019
Image: The Good Samaritan by Jacob Jordaens, c. 1616