I’ve never published as late as a Wednesday, but I’ve been really struggling to put things into words.
As someone who benefits from white privellage, male privellage, cis privellage and so much more, I’m sorry.
I was really overwhelmed this past week about trying to do or say the right thing, and whilst the internet was full of incredible voices and wisdom, there was also so many mixed messages and traps, with a sad lack of compassion for people just trying to help.
One minute you are told to read and listen, the next you are told that silence is violence.
So then you try to share what you’ve learnt, but you are told you are now just virtue signalling.
You participated in Blackout Tuesday, only for some to inadvertently use the wrong hashtag and be told you had now actually made the situation worse.
And if all of that didn’t give you anxiety, then watching video after video of police brutality did…
White inaction is a problem, it is the epitome of a disgusting privilege and everyone needs to step up. However, action is far more than social media.
You can help by educating yourself, standing up against racism in person, reaching out to your friends in support, donating to lots of very worthwhile causes, and helping to pursue policy changes both at a national and local level through writing, petitions and actually voting.
I’m thankful that it seems like the world has finally woken up to the simply repugnant systemic racism embedded in our society, not just in the US, but around the world and in Ireland.
I have gathered just a few points from the movement that really made me stop and think, there are so many more, but hopefully even one might be new to you:
The media controls the narrative, and history has shown that has the ability to diminish the entire movement, even if not intentionally. Colin Kaepernick kneeled for civil rights, but that got hijacked by the media to become disrespecting the American flag. Unfortunately in 2020, the media is competing for fleeting human attention, and this causes them to focus on the looting and violence at the fringes, inflating stories for clicks instead of continuing to address the WHY and the reason for the protests in the first place.
The recent support for Black Lives Matter is amazing but must now lead to tangible change, which has to be structured, planned and well-executed. Crucially, the demands have to be specific, we need real laws to change. I highly recommend this short article by Barack Obama - How to Make this Moment the Turning Point for Real Change.
When Martin Luther King lead the civil rights movement he was vilified. He was met with the same opposition we are seeing today about ‘how one should protest’ and what consists of a proper protest. He was described as being dangerous, as inciting violence and was even called a racist. So the poignant question is, knowing all that you do now, would you have stood with him then?
It has been a delight to see notable people and creators that I follow, come out to share their support and even their experiences for those of colour. However, I have been shocked by the backlash some have received for ‘taking a political stance’. This is not a political issue, nothing is up for debate here, there are no sides to take.
It is not anyone’s job to educate us. For so many things in life, we use books, the internet and all sorts of resources to learn and actively teach ourselves, but for issues surrounding race we expect that someone else will just explain it to us.
In fact, whilst they do explain it to us, and in the process bring up their own trauma, we then like to ‘play devil’s advocate’ and fight them on it, how messed up is that? Tone policing is an ad hominem and anti-debate tactic based on criticizing a person for expressing emotion.
Anyone, who on a daily basis, has to alter their behaviour to deal with systemic oppression caused by us has more than enough on their plate than to even entertain our ignorance.
I am optimistic that, together, by holding ourselves accountable to action and education, we can mark this as a true turning point.
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People routinely criticize musicians for only being in it for the money, but wouldn't dream of criticizing a plumber for not being in it for the love of plumbing…
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Until next week,
Guy