I think it was the perfect storm that created this moment in our nation’s history. We have been on lockdown since March due to the Coronavirus. Everyone’s lives changed drastically in an instant. You have people across the nation quarantined to their homes, stressed, scared, and not knowing what tomorrow will bring…for months.
We’re told over and over again what we have to do to stay safe, even though there’s zero guarantee that we will be. People are in a constant state of panic. People are dying. People are saying that it’s all blown out of proportion. People are suddenly experts on data and statistics. We become medical experts. We are arguing constantly because we’re right. Or because our situation is worse than anyone else’s. Or just because we’re scared.
As our patience thins, so do our views. Either you’re on this side or you’re on that side; there is no middle ground anymore. People begin to speak down to anyone who even tries to offer a different perspective or a piece that might call on people to consider a different point of view. Suddenly, everyone has the right to tell everyone else what to do. #EverythingHurts.
And then the tipping point came when George Floyd was choked to death under the knee of a police officer in Minneapolis. The dam broke. Enough was enough! People took to the streets. People took to social media. People took to the stage and to the news networks. We were shown images of Mr. Floyd’s death. We were shown images of the peaceful protests that took place in all 50 states. We were shown images of the riots and the burning of buildings. We were shown that while we’re combating COVID-19, the ugly infection of racism in our country had finally exposed our entire nation.
One Side or the Other
It had laid there dormant, seething and building up under pressure until it couldn’t be ignored for one more minute. Suddenly, mentions of COVID-19 disappeared from my feed. People weren’t giving detailed attention to what the governor said in his daily COVID-19 update. I personally haven’t listened to the governor since May 25th. Why? Because although COVID-19 has devastated lives and taken loved ones away from so many of us, systemic racism is choking us to death. #IcantBreathe. And now, Americans are feeling as if they can’t breathe.
We’re either for #BlackLivesMatter or against it. We’re either posting anti-racism memes or the Confederate flag. Some of us are talking about defunding the police while others, without understanding what that means to the person or group presenting it, are declaring that it would create anarchy and mayhem. We don’t pay attention to the fact that we’re choking to death. We don’t think about what it’s like to be the one on the ground rather than the one reading about it on Facebook. We’ll fight to the death over a flag that was flown by a losing side during the Civil War. We’ll lose friendships over defending statues that have never taught us a damn thing. I mean, ask us and we can’t even tell you where the statues are located until we hear about it on the news but yet we’re fighting and exposing the ugliest parts of ourselves to defend them.
Unfriended
I’ve taken and delivered a large number of jabs myself this week. I’ve been told that I shouldn’t call white people “white people” because it makes them want to fight and argue. I have been applauded by my real and virtual friends of color for saying what I’ve said. I’ve been told countless times that I’m what’s wrong with this country. I’ve been called rude. I’ve been told that I’ve made people feel as if I want them to question their values. I’ve been called racist toward whites. I’ve been unfriended and have gotten a cramp in my own thumb for doing the same thing to others. I’ve deepened relationships with others who feel the same way as I.
I’ve cried when looking at photos from protest marches here across my state. I’ve cried when I watched Dave Chappelle’s brutally real 8:46 video. I’ve cried when my own children have run into the room talking about conversations they have had with friends they now figure to be racist and how to deal with those emotions. It’s been a long emotional week.
But I’ve also put out an invite to any white people on my friend’s list who want to join in reading and working through “Me and White Supremacy” by Layla F. Saad. We’re beginning that this week, which I’m excited and nervous about, with a group of around 50 people! I absolutely expect this to be another emotional week, but at least I’m surrounded by people who want to help this nation try to catch its breath.
#SayTheirNames.
