“As a white male I am always hesitant to share my thoughts on racial issues, but I feel the need to get this off my chest somewhere. I am blessed to have faced no challenges in my life because of my skin.
No dirty looks from people as I walk through a store. No historically abhorrent slurs thrown my way to make me feel lesser than. No heightened aggression from police officers because of the color of my skin. And I have certainly never had to fear for my life while GOING FOR A JOG, like Ahmaud Arbery or because I bought a carton of cigarettes with a fake $20 bill, like George Floyd.
Caught between standing up to the gross injustices going on in our country, and losing relationships because of my views. I think that’s what a lot of people may be feeling right now. Caught between being outwardly ANTI-RACISM or potentially upsetting those around me.
I think of it as similar to seeing a bully in grade school. As a bystander, if you see someone getting bullied you have a choice to make. You can do nothing. Or you can stand up for what you know is right.
Except in the real world, there is no teacher to tattle to. No principal to call.
If you chose to do nothing the bully, the oppressor, will win. Or you can stand up to that bully. We all can. And then that bully becomes powerless. Because the only way to stop that bully is to be actively ANTI-Bully until he becomes powerless. And the only way to stop racism is to be actively ANTI-RACISM until IT becomes powerless. Silence solves nothing.
To those saying police brutality is just brought on by “a few bad apples” as they condemn the burning of property and spurs of violence among the protests. Maybe that violence is being brought on by “a few bad apples” as well.
Don’t let the damage done by the handful of violent protestors steer you away from the fact that this was all caused by the murder of a nonviolent, cooperative black man with no weapons who was in police custody. In historical context, the physical damage to buildings and cars is a small price to pay compared the CENTURIES of undeniable oppression and injustice to African-Americans, which these protests are just a culmination of.
I stand with those protesting for the same basic rights I have been entitled too my whole life just because I was born with lighter colored skin. Silence is a sound of the guilty. So I stand with those fighting for equal footing, fighting for a raceless world, and fighting for true, unbiased justice.”
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