I Disdain WASPS and WASPiness; and I’m Part of the Problem

A few weeks back, a colleague of mine posted this on her Facebook timeline:  “There was a wasp in the house and I sucked it up in the vacuum cleaner but now I have to take the vacuum to the dump to be incinerated.” 

I really don’t like wasps, and I have a lot of affinity with her assessment.  But when someone

posted a graphic-language-containing-meme about wasps and bees in the comments to the original post, I found myself thinking about WASPs.  The meme suggested that wasps exist only to (and this is the sanitized version) “mess stuff up.”  But whether it involved the insects for W.A.S.P.y people and ideas—the meme was still right! 

I’m hoping there’s a better solution to the problem of wasps or WASPs than incinerating the vacuum cleaners of the world! 

So yesterday, after worship—I was horrified when I realized it—I came face to face with my W.A.S.P. male privilege. 

I was introducing the newly elected co-Moderators of the 222^nd General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)—as I do each time the Assembly meets, introducing the congregation I serve to the Assembly’s elected leadership and the ambassadors of the Assembly’s work for the next 104 weeks.  Unlike other years, this year—because there were only 2 co-Moderator teams to choose from, because I was somewhat familiar with all 4 co-Moderator candidates, because one candidate was from my own Presbytery, and 2 of the others I had either met, heard in person, or share regularly in blog posts, I felt confident enough to introduce the newly elected co-moderators without notes, a stat-sheet, or the official General Assembly press release in hand. 

Here’s what I said: 

“…Denise Anderson, who is a teaching elder and an African-American woman from National Capitol Presbytery, the other is Jan Edmiston, a teaching elder and the Associate Presbytery Executive for the Presbytery of Chicago.” 

See what I did there? 

I remember feeling the need to tell the congregation that Denise was African-American—sort of like a radio-broadcaster, having to describe the scene—“oh, and you need or want to know that Denise is black.” 

Well…, she is.  But maybe that shouldn’t be the main point! 

I wanted the congregation to know that we had elected a co-Moderator team, a beautifully diverse team.  I could have said that, but I didn’t.  From my privileged place—I was taught (?), I am want—to not have to describe everyone racially.  I’d prefer that “people were people,” and even then, I could have just left off that Denise is African-American. 

But by naming Denise as an African-American but then not naming Jan as white—I left people to “assume” that everyone should understand Jan was white, implying, of course, that somehow Jan is OK, that she’s ‘like us,’ that she’s ‘not-different.”  In fact, such an introduction could subtly imply that somehow Jan is more of a moderator than Denise.  I’m horrified because that’s what we privileged people do—we even unconsciously offer subtle hints about whom to trust and follow, treating people differently in just the right ways. 

Yet this was explicitly NOT what I thought, think, or believe. 

And I must do this in any number of ways. 

And therein lies the problem.  I am blinded by what has been usual and customary for me, believing I can see a world without color or distinction because I don’t have to think about it every day.  Privilege.  I have it.  Others don’t.  It’s unfair.  It’s unequal.  It stinks.  It more than stinks. 

I didn’t mean to suggest anything other than describing Denise by my comment, well, other than being sinfully proud that my denomination had the courage, insight, and giftedness to call a wonderfully gifted and diverse co-Moderator team.  It matters for important reasons that Denise is African-American and Jan is white.  It is a blessing and gift to have called two women to serve as the first co-Moderators of the General Assembly, and that it was not two white women (that would match the overwhelming lack of diversity our denomination possesses) but that it was a woman of color and a woman of privilege who if nothing else can model for us and encourage us to continue to have the conversation about race and privilege! 

And I hope I’d be right and saying that as a denomination we’re mostly ready, even if some of us don’t always act like it! 

And maybe the election of Co-Moderators of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) isn’t such an earth-shattering accomplishment in the greater scheme of things.  But this time, it’s offered me the chance of reflection and repentance in my own way of being.  The whole world might not yet be changed, but my world can be different.  And it’s a blessing and a gift. 

I believe the door to freedom is standing open.  We just have to have the courage and conviction to walk through it. 

© Rev. David Stipp-Bethune; Teaching Elder and Pastor, The Presbyterian Church of Llanerch, Havertown, Pennsylvania