There are a lot of reasons to be outraged, anxious, depressed, tired, and unable to even determine which adjective to identify yourself with first. Life can seem so bleak, especially these days. We should all acknowledge that and, uncharacteristic of our collective and usual hurrah and approach on life, I hope we all sit in this for a while.
Anger is often a misunderstood emotion. It can be brought out impulsively, like a reflex, but can also arise out of comfort and accessibility. We sometimes rely on anger to express everything else we’re subconsciously feeling, conveying what we cannot put words to or even wrap our minds around. It becomes our expression and outcry of pent up frustration, what we resort to when we are left with no other plausible solution. Anger can be an accompaniment to a lot more than what is seen at the surface.
In my March article, I briefly mentioned how this period in time has exposed more and more of our world’s brokenness. I honestly didn’t even do a fair job of bringing light to a lot of it. From a personal stance, I assumed my writing to be supplementary and so left the burden to highlight and discuss the uncovered evils of our world to major news broadcasters and publications. I thought, “How would I even be able to touch on everything that people are going through? At what point and where would it even be a good place to leave my words and feel like I have used my voice for the benefit of others?” Though cognizant of the apparent issues that plague our world, I retreated to dip my toes in the reproach of the great pools of injustices and heartaches in this world rather than diving in and causing a meaningful ruckus. So what purpose do those small ripples serve apart from fooling myself that I have done my part?
History shows that there are never too many voices being heard. So let’s engage, dig deep, and get uncomfortable.
Racism is unfortunately still alive and well.
How are you reconciling that? How are you combatting that? How are you standing in solidarity with those who are fighting for equality and fighting to tear down the rotten interweavings of this world that we live in?
If you’re not Black you might be asking, “what do I have to do with any of this?” Maybe you have been feeling “attacked” by everything on the news, like you have no place in this matter, like you have personally done no wrong.
The hard truth is though that this has everything to do with everyone. Racism has, does, and should affect everyone. It should upend our world because we weren’t living upright to begin with.
At the core of all of this, is the right to be heard, seen, and treated fairly and equally. Surely, at the very least, there are encounters you can recount where you received the short end of the stick. Imagine living in a reality where equality is a pleasant surprise, an uncommon occurrence, a stroke of luck. The chaos and turmoil we fear and are living in is our privileged taste of the daily burden of uncertainty faced by our Black brothers and sisters.
For my readers who are not Black but have personally experienced or have grown up experiencing instances of racism, how are you showing up for the Black community?
Maybe you have wondered during this time whether your fight would be helpful or well-accepted. Maybe you have even felt bitter or at conflict because “your people” also remain treated or regarded unfairly. In any case, I hope that we are all awakened to the reality that time and time again the Black community has borne the brunt of the institutional and cultural racism that wholly exists in this country.
Racism, at all levels and varying degrees, is unacceptable and should not be overlooked.
Call it out for what it is!
The anti-Asian racism brought to light by the pandemic is wrong. For all people of color, any experience you’ve had for not being or bearing any resemblance of being something other than who you are is wrong, unwarranted, and undeserved. It’s so strange to think that bearing a lesser degree of racism is a “luxury,” but it is. I speak on behalf of my own experience, of being born and raised in the US as someone who is ethnically Korean, when I say it sucks to feel like your genetic makeup is your biggest insecurity. What. Is. That! And yet the experiences of a Korean American, or Asian Americans for that matter, are frankly incomparable to that of Black individuals. Black people have not only been victims of police brutality but also every inequality, abuse, and injustice in the book: implicit, explicit, all of it.
Racism isn’t fair, it isn’t just, and it should not be permissible. For any and all people, don’t be content with the “luxury” of the moment: to be able to ignore reality and take up the illusion that everything is fine. No degree of racism should be endured or tolerated, and that should especially not be our posture given that our lack of action in our own circumstances contributes to the unequal treatment of our Black brothers and sisters.
While this in no way is to create a metric for “who has it worse,” it is crucial to realize that a win for one in this fight for equality is a win for all. Racism in this country, and in the world overall, is so complex. It’s not just one race in conflict with another but involves the hurt and wrongful acts that all people of all backgrounds have committed upon each other.
It is so so soooo long overdue for us to stand up, join together, and speak out alongside the Black community. To support, defend, and be in solidarity with our brothers and sisters does not belittle the racism you may have gone through. Rather, it is fighting to abolish racism at its origin.
“Why resort to violence?”
It is first CRUCIAL to understand that even with all the current media coverage, there is STILL so much that goes unseen and unheard. Repeatedly, and without fail, the media misconstrues and misrepresents the genuine and raw cries of the Black community for equality. Furthermore, the Black community’s sincere efforts to fight for equality are tainted by those who selfishly and arrogantly take part in these riots to satisfy their own agenda. So yes, there are both violent and nonviolent protests. But before you go pointing fingers or saying that the historic anger of these people should only be expressed in one way, see that the Black community is somehow still being taken advantage of even in their own more-than-justified fight to be treated like humans.
As previously stated, anger and acting in anger is easily misunderstood. The protests and riots we see erupting across the country are what we see that Black individuals have been left with in order to feel like they can be heard. It has come to this; it is because of our dismissal, our neglect, our inability to do the right thing time and time again.
Trying to contain these protests for what law enforcement can handle is the complete antithesis of what these protests are trying to break and undo. The Black community has tried every which way to play in the realms of the rules that murder them. Protests and acts of speech that are done peacefully, like Colin Kaepernick taking a knee, have been so easily overlooked and misjudged. How in the world is it relief or restitution to tell people who have countlessly been oppressed to protest and express grievances under the supervision of the system that oppresses them? These protests and riots should break an already broken system. May the Black community release their anguish and call for action. May cries that have long been ignored be heard. May our country feel the pain and hurt that we are being invited into, step out of our privilege, and unite as one.
“Roll of thunder hear my cry / Over the water bye and bye / Ole man comin’ / Down the line / Whip in hand to / Beat me down / But I ain’t / Gonna let him / Turn me ’round.”
― Mildred D. Taylor, Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry
The cruelty and injustice that the Black community has faced in this country runs so far deep and has existed for so long. No words that I can say or experience that I’ve had could ever put me in the position to understand what it looks like to live in and through that. To be able to witness the community’s continued fight against racism and ability to rise above all that stands against them is a glimpse of the Black power, unity, excellence, and strength that the media too often misidentifies.
To not be defeated, to continue to fight. May we stand and be in solidarity with those who continue to dig deep and fight for what they deserve, yet should already have.
It is RIDICULOUS to even have to say that all people are created equally and should be treated so.
Why.
Why isn’t that a given? Why do certain groups of people continue to have to prove, tell, and show that they in fact are equal! Why do people have to explain and justify their worth? Why can’t we all understand that? Why do we have to assimilate and make ourselves be understood or acceptable in your terms? It shouldn’t be that certain people should just have to go through things because of the way that they look.
It is essential for all of us to speak up and stand up for people when we see these acts of violence. It should bother you that people are brutally attacked and killed because of their race.
I talk a lot about the power of empathy, as if all it takes is just a flip of a switch. But empathy doesn’t just appear; it’s not passive. It’s the result of toiling through the turmoil of understanding our differences. It’s the changed heart and mind of realizing that this world is not spinning for you, or for just “your kind of people.”
I hope that in this time we face and come to understand the gifts and discomforts of our shared similarities and differences and see how they make our world stronger and more colorful.
Let’s show up. There’s no time or space to be apathetic or disengaged. There’s no other person to place this responsibility on. The people in power are failing to do their jobs.
This is relevant to you and you should care. It’s not just a hashtag; these are lives and an entire group of people who are constantly mistreated. And for what!
The fear of this sick mentality carrying forward to another generation should be greater than the fear of standing up for others.
May we all, finally, live out and not compromise on the values that this nation was founded on and notoriously fought for in history.
