I'd like to take a minute to talk, not about the facts of the Ferguson case, because we could debate all day back and forth about bullet wound locations and eyewitness accounts and the personal backgrounds of both Darren Wilson and Michael Brown. I just want to take a minute to explain why this whole situation is so unbelievably heartbreaking, and should be no matter what "side" of this issue you stand on.
In the past few days, I’ve been accused of being very emotional and too privileged to really understand the issues that I have very
passionately spoken against. I’ve also
been told that the people of Ferguson are only protesting for their own
personal gain. And I would like to take
a minute to acknowledge that all of the above statements are absolutely true;
just not the way these people think they are.
It's true, I am emotional about the situation in Ferguson, but I would
like to remind you of something; regardless of the facts, a teenage boy DIED. When a white boy is sent to jail for just a
few years for violently raping a girl and then sharing video footage of it on social
media, people mourn the loss of his bright future. When a white boy shoots up a school, people
label him as misunderstood and blame it on violent video games. When an unarmed black boy is shot half a
dozen times by a white cop, people say
he was a thug and that he deserved it because he robbed a store. Forget for a minute about all the facts and
biases we’ve been fed on both sides, and just think about that. Because the people who are reacting this way
also don’t have all the facts. There are
people in this country who literally think it’s okay to shoot a black kid
because he stole something from a store.
That’s all they need to hear.
Sometimes more than they need. But
in this country, the penalty for shoplifting isn’t death without trial, no
matter who you are. So yes. Yes, I’m very emotional about this. And I’m shocked and bitterly disappointed that
there are people who aren’t.
As I stated above, I have also been told that I’m too
privileged to understand this situation.
And that’s true. I am too
privileged to truly understand racism.
And it would take away from the immense suffering of people I care
deeply about to pretend otherwise. But
things will never change if the privileged leave it to the oppressed to pull
themselves up to a place of equality.
Equality is something that we need to accomplish together. Instead of an “us/them” mentality, what we
need is an “all of us” mentality. We
have to work together, not ignoring differences, but celebrating them. Instead of taking a stance of “not my
problem,” we need to make racism everyone’s problem.
Many people with white privilege are angry,
because they don’t want to acknowledge the fact that they have said privilege. It’s a very difficult thing to do, because
then you have to admit that you have things you didn’t work for, or that you had
to work way less for than someone else who is equally qualified, but of a
different race. Admitting that you have
privilege means staring injustice in the face.
It means taking responsibility for the ways you have contributed to the
institution of racism, both consciously and otherwise. It means straying away from the cliché that
is “I didn’t mean to,” or “I didn’t start it,” and moving into a place of active
work toward progress. And I understand
why people deny that they have privilege; because really seeing racism for what
is, is heartbreaking. It’s so much easier
to pretend that it doesn’t exist. It’s
so much easier to tell yourself that the reason why this group or that group is
poor, hungry, lacks advanced education, is because they’re lazy. They don’t have what you have because they’re
not willing to work for it. Bullshit. [And there are, I’m sure, several people
reading this that are more upset that the missionary just cussed than that
people are being oppressed and killed in their own country. Think about that.]
Ferguson isn’t in East Asia, or South
America, or the Middle East. It’s in
Missouri. And that terrifies us. Because we see that racism isn’t a foreign or
outdated thing. It’s literally happening
right here, right now. And the fact that
this is so terrifying for us is why many of the people who can afford to ignore
it, do just that. I mean, how could this
possibly be a real issue when we’re safe and warm and our children aren’t being
killed in the streets? So we tell
ourselves that since the problem isn’t, we believe, directly affecting us,
racism must be over now. A thing of the past, and definitely not something that
we contribute to. I mean, how can you
be racist when you have a black friend you get along so well with? Never mind that they’re a person, not an
accessory that you can wear as a sign to others of how cool and tolerant you
are. Never mind that you call her Tish,
even though her name is La’Tishia, because that’s too hard or too long a name
for you. No it’s not. You can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,
and triskaidekaphobia, and the word encyclopedia just rolls off the tongue, but
you won’t give a human being the courtesy of learning their name? Their name isn’t the issue. It’s the fact
that we live in a society where people think it’s perfectly acceptable to ask
people to change or shorten their names as a matter of convenience.
I understand why people don’t want to acknowledge racism,
and the subsequent privilege they receive from it. It’s because they’re comfortable where they
are, and they don’t know what they possibly could do to help. Or maybe they know, but are unwilling to
follow through. But it’s true what they
say; admitting that you have a problem is the first step toward fixing it.
Which brings me to my last point: Ferguson protestors are, indeed,
only in it for their own personal gain.
They are looking to gain safety.
They are looking to gain equality, justice, answers. They are looking to live in the kind of world
where they don’t have to coach their young people on how not to be killed
during a routine traffic stop, or while walking home. They are looking to gain something that so
many people already have. And those of
us who have what they want don’t have to give anything up in order for them to
get it, save for our ignorance and our silence. I won't say all the protesters are peaceful. Nor will I say that looting and the like isn't occurring. But a lot of these people have lost all hope that they will ever be heard; that anything will ever change, and are willing to do absolutely anything to be heard. And there are some who will take advantage of this situation just to raise a little hell. Don't let the few extremists that are being covered in the media take away from the hard work and determination of the peaceful many. Peaceful protests don't sell papers. Riots sell papers.
