See the Evil, Speak the Evil, Stop the Evil?

[lonespark]

Sort of Tyrsday for Justice, tho it's Wotansday now...
I did finally put up the Black Lives Matter sign.
And I hope to make Tyrsday for Justice a regular thing.

Inspired by this article:
http://www.wbur.org/news/2016/09/20/mass-high-court-black-men-may-have-legitimate-reason-to-flee-police



Avoiding/fleeing police is absolutely a rational action for black people in the USA, and often for other people of color, people with a range of identities, including disabilities, gender presentation, etc. that make them fear or even "know" beyond reasonable suspicion that they will not be able to present as "compliant" in a satisfactory way.

IT SHOULD NOT BE THIS WAY!!!

But it IS this way.

In spite of many decent people with good motivations throughout the system.

We are still moving toward militarization, toward escalation, toward violence and imprisonment as the answer to a huge range of social and economic and health issues. As we have been doing the whole time I've been alive...

I think we are moving less quickly now? I hope...
That these trends are slowing and will be reversed.
That we are standing and living here in a pivot-place, a tipping-point....
A way to truly live in the world younger people have known.

It takes everyone to reach that, find that, build that.
Every voice is important.
Every teacher.
Every student.
Every parent.
Every child.
Every single and act and word.

Whether you are are using your body to slow and stop the machinery of violence,
Or you are supporting those who do...
In one of a million ways,
On any of a million days.

With what you have,
With what you can do.

Not more than that.
Not less than that.

With who you are.
From where you are.
Bigger things when you can,
Small things too.
They matter.
They add up.

Comments

[amarie24]

Thank you for this. Thank you.

And to add something:

We are still moving toward militarization, toward escalation, toward violence and imprisonment as the answer to a huge range of social and economic and health issues.

It's being treated as the answer to progress, too. That is, just about every time we see and hear about yet another marginalized person murdered, hurt, disenfranchised, etc., we're watching the rage and fear of the privileged running rampant.

We're watching the clockwork-like, violent push-back against social progress.

Look at who's in your White House. Look at who's dominating your social media with their voices, whether or not you ever wanted to hear them (all kinds of marginalized people). Look at who's taking up more and more space in all levels of colleges and universities (black women). Look at who's been demanding more representation and slowly, steadily (albeit painfully because, woah, also look at who's been written horribly, killed off, etc.), getting that representation (us).

You look at all of that...and yeah, privileged people have been spilling our blood in retaliation. They know nothing of fear, they know nothing of being de-centered and so they run the streets red with our essence.

[lonespark]

Hmmm, yes, good point.