I am devastated. As a highly sensitive person I can only take in small amounts of social media because of these tragic times. I am just so heartbroken. Trying to find the right words to express trauma and explain your thoughts about racial injustice can be difficult and awkward, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
That fact that we have to even explain why our lives matter is astounding to me. It’s not saying that others don’t. Constantly seeing images and hearing stories of people who look like you being murdered for the color of their skin is exhausting. For people to make excuses for why someone shouldn’t have been in a certain place, shouldn’t have resisted arrest, shouldn’t have done this or that hurts even more. Have you become so desensitized to seeing black bodies tortured that it means nothing to you? Are we less human because of the color of our skin?
If you have seen or heard the accounts of what has happened recently to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade and many unpublicized others and you are not outraged I have one simple question. Why? In the words of Glennon Doyle, ask yourself: “Does this feel true and beautiful to you?” Why is this not important to you? Because it doesn’t affect you? Because you are not black? Because your privilege gives you protection from caring? What about black people being murdered doesn’t strike a cord with you?
I don’t want to hear excuses or alternative facts or misinterpreted data that has been skewed for your personal agenda. Those businesses that were effected by riots most likely have insurance and can get everything back that they lost. Black people, however, are NOT expendable. What is the real reason you won’t speak up? Are you afraid of what your friends and family will say about you? Are you afraid of the backlash from people who don’t like what you have to say? We are afraid for our lives! My brother could have been Ahmaud Arbery! I could have been Breonna Taylor! My father could have been George Floyd! I should not have to be afraid to interact with people who are sworn to protect me. I should not have to be afraid of being attacked because I look “suspicious” or fit your profile of someone who you think is a criminal. Even if I was a criminal I deserve due process of law, not to be killed because of my actions.
To the black and non-black people who are fighting the good fight, I see you and honor you. Thank you for using your time, resources, and voices to try to make a difference. Dismantling this system of oppression and systematic racism is not and can not be solely the responsibility of the oppressed. This is not a political issue. This is a humanity issue. To acknowledge that what has been happening is wrong without a doubt is saying that black people deserve to be treated fairly by the justice system and others. It’s that simple.
To the black people who are grieving from this trauma I see you and honor you. How odd it feels to grieve the loss of someone you didn’t personally know. How horrifying to view traumatic images of people who look like you being murdered and tortured. How devastating to live in fear. How awful to have to explain to someone that your life matters. We will get through this and the time will come when it gets better. Take a break, do something you love and take care of yourselves.
On this same accord please, please make sure that you are voting in local elections! In Georgia the election on June 9th has so many important items on the ballot: senator, congressmen, sheriff and other local seats for the government. If we want to overhaul this system we need to enact change in our communities by electing people who actually care about issues such as racial injustice and then holding them accountable.
If you are a non-black person who hasn’t spoken up, I am urging you to do so. I know there are probably many of you who are in fact appalled, but haven’t said anything. We need everyone to come together to help us fight. We need you to engage in a conversation with your racist relative. We need you to actually talk to your kids about why people should not be treated differently just because of the color of their skin, not just lead by example. We need you to fight with us and for us. That is the only way that we will win. It’s not about saying that you don’t see color and therefore thinking that you are not a part of the problem. It’s not about the fact that you personally are not racist and oppressing anyone and therefore don’t see why you need to say anything. It’s about hundreds of years of systematic oppression and racism that has kept black people down and you may have benefited from simply because of the different colors of our skin. Just because you haven’t done anything to earn that privilege, does not mean you don’t benefit from it. It’s about acknowledging and celebrating our differences and fighting to prove that they don’t make anyone less of a person. Our differences are what makes this life wonderful, beautiful and worth living.
Until next time,
Lacadia
