Ordinarily, my first post of a new month would be my monthly budget report. That will come later. At the moment, it doesn’t feel right. I’m feeling strongly called to address current events and the stand against racism.
Up to this point, I haven’t said much in response to what’s happening on social media. I hope you understand that it’s not because I don’t care, but that words escape me. My country burns, and its people are being murdered, It’s the primary topic of conversation in my household.
It weighs heavy on my heart, but I haven’t been sure how to share it. I don’t have first hand accounts of what’s happening at protests since I’m not there. Honestly, I’ve only very recently starting posting on my personal social media. It feels like it doesn’t matter. The people who see what’s happening already know better, and the rest refuse to open their eyes or listen to reason, facts, and basic human decency.
I’m not a political expert or a reporter. I am just a person who is heartbroken and physically sickened by the ever-growing hatred and abuse that I observe in what should be a country founded on equality for all, and the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Protests continue because everyone is not treated equally, and an embarrassing percentage of our population refuses to acknowledge it.
It’s time to stand against racism.
“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” Desmond Tutu
What's Going On?
I probably don’t have to tell you what’s happening out there. You’ve seen it on your Twitter feeds and your Facebook walls. You hear it on the news and radio. Many of you are out there at the protests watching it happen.
In the last few days, I’ve seen many of the same things you have. An elderly man body checked to the ground, a child pepper sprayed in the face, tear gas canisters shot into civilian homes from the street, black men and women dehumanized for demanding to be treated like human beings, bodies piling up because of the color of their skin.
I see you, and I support you.
The other end of that spectrum exists, too. I’ve also seen truly peaceful but powerful protesting, good cops kneeling in solidarity, and people protecting each other at no small risk to themselves because they believe that black men and women have the right to be treated like human beings.
I see you, and I support you.
However, I do not support outright racism, violence for the sake of violence, willful ignorance, senseless murder, and the complete and utter lack of respect for human life and basic freedoms taking place. Not just recently, but certainly more blatantly as of late.
We can’t pretend racism doesn’t happen. We can’t pretend that anybody is free until everybody is free. It’s time to stand against racism.
“Racism is not getting worse, it’s getting filmed.” – Will Smith
All Lives Matter?
If you want to claim you can’t see a problem, you choose willful ignorance. And if you’re touting the “all lives matter” BS rhetoric, you choose willful ignorance.
Yes, all lives matter. Nobody is arguing that point. That’s not the problem! The issue is that all lives SHOULD matter, but they don’t.
Bad cops and hateful citizens literally murder people in the streets and walk away in some cases without conviction or punishment. Good cops stay quiet, stand by, or support and protect those who abuse and murder.
People of color are far more likely to be killed in routine stops, suffer more extreme police brutality more frequently, serve longer sentences for similar crimes, are convicted and sentenced at a higher rate than their white counterparts, suffer poverty, domestic violence, and poor education at higher rates, and are far less likely to escape these circumstances.
None of this should require an explanation…
This is why people protest and fight. It’s time to stand against racism.
“If you’re calling for an end to unrest, but not calling out police brutality, not calling for health care as a human right, not calling for an end to housing discrimination, all you’re asking for is the continuation of quiet oppression.”— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Just Protest Peacefully
Yeah, they tried that. Our leaders treated those peaceful displays like incomprehensible and criminal action, and now they act surprised by growing violence in the streets.
Do some protesters get violent? Yep. Do people take advantage? Absolutely. But here’s the thing. THAT’S HAPPENING ON BOTH SIDES!!! Please stop ignoring all the white folks who stir up sh!t, loot stores, murder people in the streets, shoot arrows into crowds while screaming all lives matter, and then lie about it…
Stop talking about how Martin Luther King, Jr. protested peacefully and revolutionized our country.
Yes, the march started out peacefully. Please don’t forget about the beatings, hosings, lynchings, and releasing of dogs that occurred five minutes in. His protests rarely ended peacefully because people who didn’t want to share their power attacked.
Please don’t forget that many people of the time HATED Dr. King. Remember that he was not just despised, but assassinated for trying to bring about change that would give his people the right to be treated like people.
Remember that after his death, over 100 cities broke out into violent protests and riots. The country burned for 6 days and didn’t stop burning until the Civil Rights Act of 1968 passed.
Oh yeah, and maybe try to remember that while the act passed, and this was a monumental step forward for our country, racism lives comfortably today.
This is why people protest. It’s time to stand against racism.
“A riot is the language of the unheard.” – Martin Luther King, Jr.
What Can We Do?
That’s really up to you and your circumstances. I’ll be totally honest, I don’t know the “right thing”. But I know that I can’t do nothing. I can’t sit silently. If you’re feeling lost, this website might help you get started.
Check Your Privilage
This one always riles people up. White privilege doesn’t mean you never face struggles. It just means that the color of your skin might afford you opportunities that people who aren’t white don’t get.
Let me share with you a little story of the day I learned that about my privilege.
I left home shortly after I turned 18 with no job, no car, no identification, and no money. I struggled. The circumstances I left weren’t easy either. As a result, I started adulthood with few functional life skills and a whole lot of trauma.
I owned this car, an absolute lemon with really shoddy wiring. All the lights died constantly.
So I saved up and took it to a shop. I paid an entire month’s worth of my income to get this car up to snuff so I’d stop getting pulled over and so my boss would quit telling me that he’d fire me if I didn’t drive to work in the dark without head, tail, or dash lights.
The very next night, an officer pulled me over for not having tail lights. I felt frustrated and furious because no matter how hard I tried, I felt like nobody would help me.
Remember how I said earlier I had no functional life skills and lots of trauma? That’s important to know because it helps explain what happened next.
Pulled over on the side of the road in the middle of the night, visibly frustrated, and without warning or invitation, I got out of my car and started aggressively walking toward my tail lights. And toward the cop.
About the same time he reached for his gun, my eyes opened to my privilege. As a small, white teenage girl, I live to tell this story. I have no doubt that if any of those factors, my skin color especially, changed, I’d be a statistic.
White privilege doesn’t mean my life rocked. It sucked. It means that I’m not dead due to an honest mistake made in a moment of fear and panic.
“For years, with every horrific murder of an innocent Black man, woman or child, I have always tried to find the right words to express my condolences and outrage, but the privilege I am afforded by the color of my skin has often left me feeling like this is not a fight I can truly take on as my own. Not today, not anymore… Even though I will never know the pain and suffering they have endured, or what it feels like to try to survive in a world plagued by systemic racism, I know I can use my own voice to help amplify those voices that have been muffled for too long.”— Kim Kardashian-West
Fight For The Cause
Systemic racism continues to afflict my country. We must do more. Now, we face greater challenges and opposition because our leadership can’t feel empathy or remorse… (but that’s a rant for another day). If they refuse to take a stand against racism, then we must. How can you fight?
Acknowledge privilege and get familiar with your biases
It’s there. If you need more information, check out this article which looks at the concept since it was given a name in 1988. Get comfortable with recognizing your own racial bias, so you can act from a place of compassion rather than fear.
Speak out if you can.
Please understand that other people out there who feel outrage and heartbreak just like you, but it may not be safe for them to speak out actively.
For the same reasons we don’t respond with anger when our LGBTQ+ friends fear coming out, people out there in dangerous, abusive, racist households stay silent. It must okay for those people to protect themselves. Believe that when they can, they’ll make their mark.
If you can’t speak out, can you sign online petitions? Can you donate money and supplies, or help support a friend who can safely speak out? If not, can you face your own prejudices, biases, and personal experiences to decide how you will be better?
Stand up for equality
I support anyone’s right to stand against racism and fight for the cause. However, I wait to take my physical stand. I believe that COVID-19 isn’t done with us yet, and a preexisting heart condition puts me at risk.
Please know that I am already planning my moment. In 2 months, I must figure out how to navigate this conversation with scared, angry, and yes, even somewhat racist 9 year old children. I fully understand that, as a white authority figure, I must earn the trust and respect of about 1/4 of those children. This challenge doesn’t fall on my lightly.
Fight back with your money.
Change takes money, and you can use yours to help. You’d be amazed how many different causes and programs need help. You can donate supplies and medical equipment to front line fighters, money to the cause, support campaigns to effect change in your community, give to bail funds to support arrested protesters, and provide community outreach. I know there’s even more that I’m missing in these examples.
- Donate to the cause. Here’s that link again if you need a starting point.
- Speak with your dollars. Shop with black business owners and give your money to companies who speak out against institutionalized racism.
“George Floyd’s murder is not only an outrage. It is the latest manifestation of a system that callously devalues the lives of Black people. Our struggle is and always has been about justice — not justice on paper, but real justice in the real lives of real people.” – Bernie Sanders
Just Do Something!
I can use my voice to speak out against racism, police brutality, injustice, and inequality in my country.
I can teach my own child to be better.
I’ll have uncomfortable, but age appropriate conversations with my students about racism and empower them to stand up for their rights.
I can speak with my money.
My blog is small and doesn’t make much. However, every month for the next 9 months, Problems and Projects will be donating half of every cent earned online to a cause that supports people who face inequalities and injustices resulting from systemic -isms.
Every affiliate sale, sponsored post, Amazon sale, app cash out, survey earning, contest winnings, every bit of ad revenue, and whatever else I have forgotten about… If I earn it outside my regular job, half goes directly to support life and the fight for equality. This doesn’t end when the protests stop.
One month for every minute that it was acceptable to asphyxiate a man to death. If you disagree or don’t want to support me in that endeavor, you’re free to leave.
Even if I don’t make a dime in online income, I will still donate personally. So far, a small $10 donation has already been made to help provide supplies for front line fighters. I plan make a larger donation later this month. Additionally, I intent to seek out a cause that supports the black LGBTQ+ community in honor of Pride Month.
While it’s not nearly enough, these are ways that I know I can take a stand.
“We have a right to protest for what is right. That’s all we can do. There are people hurting, there are people suffering, so we have an obligation, a mandate, to do something.”— Rep. John Lewis
Final Thoughts
I’ll be honest, I’m not really sure what else to say. Stay safe out there. Stand up against racism however you can. The world is a scary place right now, but in the wise words of Mr. Rogers, look for the helpers.
Then, figure out how to be one of the helpers.
Even though absolute atrocities occur around us, good people still fight for what’s right.
In the mean time, do what you can, take care of each other, and make sure you’re prepared for emergencies because they’re happening all around us.
Unsure about ways to prepare for emergencies? Check out these posts.
“At the heart of racism is the religious assertion that God made a creative mistake when He brought some people into being.”— Friedrich Otto Hertz
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