If you are a friend of mine and follow me on social media, you see my posts.
If you are a friend of mine and hang out with me, you hear my opinions.
If you have read my blog, I've posted political or social commentary - this post will not be a surprise to you.
I know there is head shaking, eye-rolling and maybe even fear among so many of us over the last few months if not longer. It's so important that we understand each other. Really understand each other and how we ended up in this spot. I've un-friended and un-followed people over the last couple of weeks. I know others have done this too. People are watching, judging and some are taking action. People are complex creatures. I do believe people are innately good. It is our society, our parents, our culture and life that spoils us.
We justify terrible things happening to people because they 'deserve it', they made choices and those consequences are theirs to suffer. It isn't always that simple. We're not all raised in-like situations. We're not all given the same tools and support to make the best choices. We're not all given second chances equally. We're not all able to make the best choice because of we don't start from the same spot. It is why our compassion is crucial in society. I'd argue that it is most important for those in the ruling class and America does have a ruling class. Most of my friends are part of that ruling class. It is why I feel such a responsibility to speak out. We have to exercise our compassion to understand that our society has been built upon inequities that are steeped in ethnocentrism.
I don't come from much. I had a modest childhood. I learned early the importance of education, the importance of having the 'right friends' and I had the ability to be able to make good choices. I could transition between social classes and ethnic groups because I had one foot in each, but I'm always aware that I am perceived as other. By gender or racial identity. I was a tomboy (a term I dislike). I've always been good for a girl. I've been called 'exotic' and mistaken for Hispanic, Native, Filipino, Latina, Hawaiian. My ethnicity has never . My friends always remind me of this. It isn't done with maliciousness, it's not anything that I take offense because it is part of my experience, but it has shaped my views and my actions. It is why I'm passionate about advocating for equality and injustice. I'm crying as I type this because I'm tired and frustrated.
In 2004 I worked my last campaign in Florida. It hurt. I never cried after losing a race before. Feeling helpless and realizing that voters don't care. Worse of all, that the political system I believed in and had faith in, was broken for many people. Disenfranchised. I was heart broken because I had this dream that I could make a difference, engaging voters in democracy to get elected officials to make better policy that will create a more equal society for everyone. I felt betrayed by the system. The curtain had been pulled up and I saw the man, who was more concerned about maintaining a ruling class. I realized to get to that point, some of those people I worked for had turned their back and refuted their values in order to join the party. I didn't want to participate to be 'accepted with conditions'.
What does that mean? During the second world war, Japanese and their American children were interned. Those children we're asked to show their allegiance to America by joining the military to fight against the Japanese. That's accepted with conditions. Rather than suffer injustice, they joined. They joined because their choice was to suffer to go to war. They were accepted as American only on this condition. Accepted with conditions.
White people can't understand. It's not possible no matter how poor or how much you've overcome. It is a complex history. It isn't about removing history, but understanding that the history we've learned has come at the expense of great injustice to so many others. It's about recognizing that history taught to us minimizes or excludes the experiences of people of color. We've addressed this through charity. Black history or Women's history month, rather than to overhaul the curriculum to be inclusive of all history.
We've long dehumanized large swaths of society. People of color, the poor, LGBTQ+. We've made ourselves feel better by choosing to support charity, rather than do the hard and uncomfortable work of making meaningful change through policy and systemic change. We continue to come short on foreign policy because we continue to practice ethnocentrism, believing we're inherently better.
Here we are. Two weeks of protest. Riots. Calls to "Defund the Police". We are still in a pandemic that has taken over 100,000 lives in America. It will probably take another 100,000 by the end of the year. We watched too many times as lives were taken, and the crime was being Black. Their value was less, their rights diminished until we all watched George Floyd. However, his death wasn't the first time the Black community has raised the issue of injustice stemming from racial prejudices, racism. Bad apples, solo incidents; but they are a continuing pattern of injustice (and racism) against Black boys and men. As we sit with nothing much to do, our collective society experienced Floyd's death. It illustrated the brutality of the police, and the compliance of those officers who did nothing to stop it. George Floyd made bad choices in his life, but his life had value. For the first time in a long time, the Black community wasn't alone in their anger. They weren't alone in their calls for justice. If you aren't aware, there are dozens and dozens of incidents of police brutality against people of color being shared on the internet since Floyd's murder. I'm not going to get into a debate on the "defund the police", but I will say that we must listen. We must not discount the outrage and ignore the problem because we don't agree with the approach.
How many times have you heard, "I give to charity" or "I support that cause"? In polite society we don't talk sex or politics? Don't rock the boat? I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired. I don't have the answers, but I know that we must all put aside polite society and talk about these issues. Shining a light on them is unpleasant. We must admit America hasn't been great for many people, so when we say make America great again, what does that mean to all those people who have been oppressed. It doesn't mean we can't strive to be better than we were yesterday, but it starts with us. It starts by saying it aloud. "We've got a problem and we must work on it." It is going to be a lifelong pursuit of happiness. All of us together have to be committed. Those who aren't affected, those who may be scared, those who are tired and most importantly, those that have the power to make change. To those who have never felt "other", who never feared being stripped of their liberty based on their race, gender, sexuality, sexual-orientation, made to be less, this is a plea for you to make a different choice, a choice to be part of a better America. We must participate in the dialogue, support discourse and reforms and vote for people who will do the work. Get informed, Get involved and Get out there and Vote. I have faith in you.
Love and Peace - C.
