1.
If you only break your social media silence to condemn the riots, then YOU are the problem.
2.
If you brag that all lives / blue lives matter, then YOU are the problem.
3.
If you start or end your post with any sort of and you can’t change my mind!, then YOU are the problem.
4.
If you are upset by anything I’ve said so far, then YOU are the problem.
I do not say this to condemn, but to encourage – if YOU are the problem, then YOU can also be the solution:
1.
Do YOU really care about the communities where the rioting / looting is happening? Then listen to what the rioters are saying; don’t discredit them simply because they are using a language that is uncomfortable for you to hear. Donate to organizations that are supporting those communities. Go out and clean them up yourself (if you live nearby; please don’t fly right now) or connect with your own community.
2.
Do YOU really believe that all lives to matter? Then say Amen! when someone says a Black life matters – because they do, and right now (and for centuries), the system that you live in tells them that they don’t. Black lives can’t go for runs (Ahmaud Arbery), go shopping (George Floyd), or sleep in their own fucking beds (Breonna Taylor) without being murdered. So if they really matter to you, fight for them to have the same rights that you do.
And if you really can’t get through Black lives matter without a But! then please, please message me. We have work to do.
3.
Do YOU really believe there is no value in changing your mind? Do you still believe in Santa Claus? Or that babies come from hugs? No, because you are no longer a child; you have grown and changed your mind as you have learned new information. Be open to being wrong. Be open to listening, instead of hiding behind a a Facebook status and building a higher wall.
4.
I would genuinely love to talk with YOU about any of this. I, too, am part of the problem. I, too, am learning and unlearning, and I would love to learn together. Message me if you’d prefer, or comment if you want a group discussion.
But for fuck’s sake, do something:
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