The Deep Roots of Our Pain:
A European American Reckoning With Christian Patriarchy and White Supremacy
By: Vix Burgett-Prunty
Let's start with a story you probably missed. Last month, Calvin Jordan, an unassuming Ohio cell phone repairman was sentenced to 50 years for stealing nude photos from women's devices. On the surface, this seems like just another creep getting his due. But friends, this story goes much deeper. What we're really seeing is the latest manifestation of a 500-year-old American sickness. European American men's entitlement to other people's bodies is a problem and it's perpetuated by the church.
A Gallipolis cell phone repairman will spend decades behind bars after admitting to downloading nude photos from customers’ devices without their consent, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost.
As reported by WHIO-TV, Calvin Jordan, 27, was sentenced to 49 to 51 years in prison after pleading guilty to 40 criminal charges in February. The charges included:
Three counts of pandering sexually oriented matter involving a minor
One count of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material
36 counts of unauthorized use of computer or telecommunications property
Jordan, who worked at Direct Computing Solutions in Gallipolis (Gallia County), exploited his position to access customers’ private photos between December 2021 and April 2022. Investigators found that he secretly downloaded explicit images from more than 40 victims, including minors aged 14 to 17.
“Violating your customers’ privacy isn’t just creepy, it’s illegal, especially when some of your clients are minors,” Yost said in a statement obtained by WHIO-TV. Upon release, Jordan will be required to register as a Tier II sex offender.
As I read about Jordan's crimes, I couldn't help but think of my friend . One in particular, bruised face and devout Christian, she truly believed it was God's will when her husband hit her. "The man is the head of the household," she'd whisper, quoting Ephesians 5:22 while icing her cheek. This wasn't just domestic violence, it was theology made flesh. We are trained to endure violence in silence.
The Numbers Don't Lie
The statistics paint a damning picture:
Evangelical women experience domestic violence at rates 25% higher than national averages (Nason-Clark, 2004)
The Southern Baptist Convention recently admitted to hiding over 700 abuse cases (Guidepost Solutions, 2022)
93% of child sexual abuse is perpetrated by someone the family trusts - often church leaders (RAINN, 2023)
This isn't Christianity gone wrong. This is European American Christianity working exactly as designed. From colonial times when ministers preached that slavery was biblical, to today's "prosperity gospel" that blesses billionaire greed, we've created a faith that sanctifies oppression.
The Historical Roots
The patterns are unmistakable:
The Witch Trials Era: Puritan ministers executed women for "witchcraft" while taking sexual liberties with female congregants (Karlsen, 1987)
The Slavery Era: Preachers used the "Curse of Ham" to justify brutality (Haynes, 2002)
The Jim Crow Era: Churches hosted Klan meetings in their basements (DuBois, 1935)
Now we've entered the Digital Era, where tech bros cite "God's calling" while creating revenge porn algorithms. The tools change, but the toxic theology remains.
Breaking the Cycle
Here's the hard truth I've learned through my work with EAGER (European Americans Growing, Engaging and Reconditioning): we can't reform systems built on sacred violence. We need radical solutions.
Some ways we're doing this:
Truth-Telling Sessions: Where members confess family histories of racial harm
Wealth Redistribution Projects: Pay Your Pro-humanity Educator Day. Every Saturday, we highlight a different pro-humanity educator and not only send money as a group, but also ask other people to also send money to the educator of the week.
New Rituals: seeking celebrations that do not praise genocide
Your Invitation to Healing
This work isn't about guilt. It's about liberation. Here's how to start:
Read our unflinching Substack on historical trauma: The Depth of Historical Trauma https://60kandbelow.substack.com/p/the-depth-of-historical-trauma?r=4zs2hy
Join our community at www.joinEAGER.com
Use #BeEAGER to share your own awakening story
The most dangerous lie we tell ourselves is "that was then, this is now." The truth? We're all still swimming in these toxic waters. But together, we can learn to breathe something cleaner.
Citations:
Baker, J. E. (c1892) The Witch No. 1 [Lithograph]. Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.
Du Bois, W.E.B. (1935). Black Reconstruction in America
Guidepost Solutions (2022). SBC Sexual Abuse Investigation Report
Haynes, S. (2002). Noah's Curse: The Biblical Justification of American Slavery
Karlsen, C. (1987). The Devil in the Shape of a Woman
Nason-Clark, N. (2004). When Terror Strikes at Home
RAINN (2023). Perpetrators of Sexual Violence Statistics
(WHIO-TV)
