Shiloh Hendrix, White Christianity, and The Reward of Racism in America

Shiloh Hendrix, a white woman from Rochester, Minnesota, was caught on camera in a local park playground using the N-word toward a 5-year-old Black autistic boy who she claimed had taken her diaper bag.In the video, as she is confronted by the man recording the video, Hendrix throws up a defiant middle finger and joyfully doubles down with a flurry of repetitions of the racist epithet, all while holding her own child under her arm.She should have received universal condemnation.Instead, she is being rewarded.Instead of expressing contrition for her racist tirade, Hendrix took to the Christian fundraising platform GiveSendGo to declare herself the victim, and as of this writing, has raised $675,000 as a reward for her racism.Hendrix stated on the fundraising page:“I am asking for your help to assist in protecting my family. I fear that we must relocate. I have two small children who do not deserve this. We have been threatened to the extreme by people online.”This is where America has found itself now, 250 years into its existence: so afflicted with white supremacy that the kind of repugnant behavior that should turn someone into a pariah, now transforms them into a supremacist’s martyr, a racist’s hero.But this isn’t about Shiloh Hendrix, at least not primarily. Her words and actions are completely vile and fully worthy of the vitriol they have generated against her.But the real human tragedy here is that thousands of white Americans (nearly all of them professing to be followers of Jesus) saw in Shiloh Hendrix someone who spoke for them, who embodied the hatred they harbor in their hearts, someone who stood as a playground proxy, spewing the dehumanizing words that they only dream of using. Much like with Donald Trump, Hendrix’s unapologetic display of racism toward a Black child is allowing self-identified Christian white supremacists all over this nation to hate vicariously through her, to feel power through her, to celebrate whiteness through her.And just like Hendrix, those who chose to financially reward her for her racism also likely have children who are being shaped by the hateful hearts of those raising them. They, too, are being weaned on a supremacy that sees white people as both the victim and the hero. Many of Hendrix’s benefactors have children, nephews, and granddaughters, who may one day find themselves in a public park, restaurant, or church gathering, defiantly and joyfully broadcasting their racism, believing themselves as righteous, and expecting to be applauded for it.America is too far into our history for this s**t, friends. Racists shouldn’t be handed wealth. They shouldn’t be awarded public office.As a white Christian in America, I’m embarrassed for our nation that tens of millions of us have learned nothing from our disgraceful history about the damage that dehumanization and bigotry do to those who practice it and those who absorb it. I’m sick to my stomach that professed followers of Jesus can be so saturated with racism, that with their wallets and their votes, they elevate people like Shiloh Hendrix and Donald Trump, instead of condemning and rejecting them.I’m grief-stricken to know that a Black mother can’t escape the unearned viciousness of White people in a public park, that her children are hounded by racism even on a playground.But most of all, I’m outraged that so many white people who have children of their own, are so poisoned by the myth of their supremacy that they celebrate a stranger’s hatred because it reflects their own; that they don’t give a damn about racism’s cost because they are too busy contributing to its reward.The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnpavlovitz.substack.com/subscribe