Most of the time I like to hold my tongue. I like to listen to the conversations around me instead of chiming in and sharing my opinion. I don’t do this because I’m afraid of saying the wrong thing, or because I’m shy. I do this because I learn more, hear more when I listen instead of speak. You can learn a lot about someone or something when you keep your ears open to the world around you. That’s a useful lesson I’ve gathered in my twenty-one years of life. Yet, there are certain times when holding one’s tongue is not going to do enough. With that being said, I’ve listened to the opinions and perspectives of others these past few weeks, I’ve watched the actions of communities coming together or pulling apart, and I’ve felt the pain and the love coming from the people fighting for change, but I have my own perspective to share.
Everyone has their own views on what is happening in the world right now. Whether that be opinions on the Black Lives Matter movement, White privilege, police brutality, etc. There is one thing in particular that everyone in the world could agree on: racism is real, racism has existed far too long, racism will be hard to weed out, racism is destroying the country, racism needs to be talked about, and racism needs to be stopped. We need to start by educating others and acknowledging what racism looks like and when it is happening. It can be subtle. It can be blunt. It can come in many forms and make many levels of impact. We need to hold each other accountable. We need to understand that we were all created equal and no one race is more special or important than another.
Speak up. If you see discrimination or racism happening around you, say something. Being a bystander is being guilty.
I believe in peaceful protests and the legacy that Martin Luther King Jr. set during the Civil Rights Movement. I do not believe that looting is the answer. There are many people using the riots as an excuse to loot, which does nothing but make the people in power see protesters as criminals, not people who need change. Looters are opportunists, not protesters fighting for change. For the people associating the two, don’t. Even though there is looting happening, I don’t want that to be the focus of attention for the world to see. There are protests and riots and marches happening globally, full or crowds of human beings of all races and shades, who feel so deeply in their heart that change needs to be done; and they're risking their health to COVID-19 while they’re out there. They are risking their lives because black lives are at risk anyways.
When it comes to the riots, it is hard for me to watch cities burn and fall, but I understand why many feel the need to do so. There are communities full of built-up rage with people they want to target, but can’t reach. Imagine having so much anger with nowhere to put it? Imagine a fire burning and burning, spreading across the country, but no one with enough power is putting it out the way it needs to be put out. I feel your anger. I see your pain. I’ve shed your tears. I know your fear.
People in power need to implement change. They need to make direct changes in the law and they need to start with a change in police culture. I respect law enforcement and the good that they do, but I believe that all police departments need to do a better job at weeding out the racists, the narcissists, and the individuals who can’t handle all of the power at their trigger happy fingers. We need the government and the President to step up and make changes, not only in the law but in their hearts. We can ask for others to speak up, use their privilege, use their power, but if they don’t feel the love in their heart for others, then we’re only going to regress as a country.
I’ve seen many posts on social media with the hashtag Black Lives Matter (BLM). I support this movement 100 percent. Where there is a BLM hashtag, there is someone who responds with “all lives matter”. Yes. All lives do matter. Everyone matters. But, in the United States of America, people of color are being targeted, murdered, harassed, discriminated against, assaulted, attacked, and looked down upon by law enforcement officers. Many law enforcement officers hold, what I believe to be, a generational, cultural, and workplace induced bias against people of color. Black Lives Matter is not saying that all lives do not matter. It is saying black lives matter just as much as anyone else.
The only difference between a white woman clutching her purse when she is standing next to an African-American man in an elevator and a police officer clutching his sidearm during a routine stop is that in the first scenario, the black man will feel the hurt of being judged by the color of his skin. In the second scenario, he may feel nothing ever again.
Below is a personification poem that I wrote. The object being personified is a noose. I wrote this a while back, but I sadly feel as though it is relevant to read about today. Every line has a meaning and I hope you feel what I felt when I wrote this.
Blind Obedience
What I was taught to believe - now reality
I crave your skin on mine
I want you (you know what they say about juice and berries).
Without you, I am useless,
But still useful
Because I kill animals of all kinds.
Don’t be afraid- I just wanna hold you tight
You came tonight.
Not by pleasure or will but look at you standing tall.
Boy, don’t fear me
The ones that came before you claim to not feel any more pain.
If I let go, will you give up?
Stand now, swing later. My loop lusts for your melanin.
We’re both in knots at the core.
You will always be my favorite.
