Sitting in Heartbreak

Don't even know what to say with what is happening. It hurts so much and yet I realize my pain is miniscule in comparison to so many in this country. The following is from a Facebook post by Shola Richards that touched my heart and opened my eyes a bit more, which is always a good thing.

1) Having white privilege doesn’t mean that your life isn’t difficult, it simply means that your skin color isn’t one of the things contributing to your life difficulties. Case in point, if it never crossed your mind that you could have the cops called on you (or worse, killed) for simply bird watching then know that is a privilege that many black/brown people (myself included) don’t currently enjoy.
2) Responding to “Black Lives Matter” by saying “All Lives Matter” is insensitive, tone-deaf and dumb. All lives can’t matter until black lives matter.
3) Racism is very real, and please don’t delude yourself into thinking it’s limited to the fringes of the hardcore MAGA crowd. As Amy Cooper proved, it’s just as prevalent in liberal America as it is anywhere else.
4) While racism is real, reverse-racism is not. Please don’t use that term, ever.
5) In order for racism to get better, white allies are absolutely critical. If you’re white and you’ve read this far, hopefully you care enough to be one of those allies. Please continue to speak up (despite some of your friends and family rolling their eyes at you), because your voices matter to PoC now more than ever. Special shoutouts to my friends
Becky
,
Catherine
,
Dory
,
Elizabeth
,
Greta
,
Jessica
,
Kayte
,
Kurt
,
Peter
,
Sharri
, and
Teri
 (and anyone else who I missed) for doing it so well.
6) And if you’re white, and you’re still choosing to stay silent about this, then I honestly don’t know what to say. If these atrocities won’t get you to speak up, then honestly, what will? Also, it’s worth asking, why be my friend? If you aren’t willing to take a stand against actions that could get me hurt or killed, it’s hard to believe that you ever cared about me in the first place.

Comments

  1. Debra She Who SeeksMay 31, 2020 at 10:04 AM

    Excellent post and good points that people need to understand.

    ReplyDelete
  2. anne marie in phillyMay 31, 2020 at 11:09 AM

    #5 - let's ALL do this!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Marie SmithMay 31, 2020 at 12:02 PM

    I read that too. The part about white privilege is a good explanation which I will use for sure. Great points there.

    ReplyDelete
  4. ColetteJune 1, 2020 at 11:39 AM

    Thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  5. BillJune 1, 2020 at 12:03 PM

    Great points, people need to turn up their voices, silence is not an option.

    ReplyDelete
  6. JeanieJune 3, 2020 at 4:26 PM

    Well said and documented.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Silver in AZJune 15, 2020 at 11:32 AM

    excellent points. And hi! I'm back to blogging after too long of a break. Hope you are well, all world things considering...

    ReplyDelete

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