Warning **Explicit Language due to Anger**
Warning **Explicit Content**
Now if you are reading after those two warnings you are willing to hear and see what I have to share.
I have been filled with so much anger at the things I have been seeing online in regards to these protests. I am upset that in the beginning the media tried to shine a negative light on the protests. Reporting only on the riots and looting. Depicting all the protests as violent and destructive. They didn’t start really reporting the truth until social media took over the narrative. Videos of people in attendance at these events brought a different perspective that could not be ignored any longer. These videos showed the police using their authority to commit unlawful acts against innocent citizens. If you haven’t seen them yet, here is a few links. These videos I am sharing are from various people I follow on Instagram. I do not own the rights to any of these videos. Like I stated above, Explicit Content. I recommend only watching these videos if you are able to handle what you see.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6-mXcncql/?igshid=gbez87dccrm2
https://www.instagram.com/p/CA6TCIGnuWm/?igshid=1ndr9tl4t3g7j
Ok last one because my stomach is turning and honestly I can’t handle it myself.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAzE7TdHUgC/?igshid=ilmz87ueylx1
I mean they pushed down a 75 year old man and left him for dead. Thank God he has been reported as doing okay but really!?!?!?!?!
The reality is how much do they, whoever the hell they are, expect people to take? At first I was totally against the destruction. Then as I received more and more information, I gained a better understanding. Then I put myself in someone else’s shoes. If my nephew, 16 years old and all of 6 feet tall, who would be considered a “threat” due to height alone was on the receiving end of any police brutality/murder, I would burn this country to the ground. I would not stop until justice was muted out in a court of law or by my own hands. This may sound out of place but do it. Put yourself in any of these parents, brothers, sisters, sons or daughters shoes. If any of these unarmed, unnecessary deaths was one of your family members, how would you respond?
I realize that these protest won’t change the most racist of hearts. It is to reach the people who have been neutral or unconcerned because it didn’t effect them. It is like when we see wars breaking out in other countries, buildings being bombed and citizens dying and we are upset and frustrated. But we know that there is only so much we can do. The thing is the murders of unarmed black men and women are happening right here in our own country and there is something we can do. We can stop watching the TV with anger and frustration and get out here and work on changing this country. That means educating yourself and not taking what you see in mainstream media as fact.
I didn’t really cuss and that is so unusual. Lol. I am angry but explicit language isn’t always necessary to get your point across. However, it does usually make me feel better. Maybe if I had posted this last week every other sentence would have been laced with profanity. I have had a moment to calm down a little. I am still in this fight against racism. I don’t want any of these protest to die a slow death. We need change and it is long overdue. I believe this country will not rest in peace any longer. And I am stretching it by calling all these years of quiet acceptance of the mistreatment of black people peace. It was actually an underground volcano waiting to erupt. Now everyone is getting hit with the shit.
Here is a few clips of protest rallies around the world including America. They inspire me and fill my heart. It is crazy that other countries are so in support of black people here in America.
I sent this to my mom and said it looks like the whole country showed up. Lol
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBHI9GUnZl9/?igshid=1hgvqcnrbr0qy
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBHImwZHM59/?igshid=1uhm7mzbtews3
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBHIHcwHS3f/?igshid=1ii9k4ixmlojh
https://www.instagram.com/p/CBLMQhNH6Oq/?igshid=hr3isksjj9wb
And it was so many more with huge turnouts. Even the Amish supported Black Lives Matter.
I am currently listening to an audiobook by Ijeoma Oluo called “So You Want To Talk About Race.” It can be a tough read if you aren’t black but it is a very informative book. I recommend it. When she talked about the first time she was called the n word, that was tough for me. It broke my heart. No one is asking white people to go through what we go through, we are just asking for white people to be aware of it. I watched this clip of a video from Jane Elliot asking a room full of white people a very specific question. Jane Elliot is a teacher/anti-racism advocate that did an exercise on her students back in 1968 called Blue Eyes – Brown Eyes. The students in the class were treated differently based on eye color. It was to demonstrate how blacks are treated versus whites. Let’s say the exercise did not go over well. No one wants to be treated like black people. Hear is the clip.
This video is kind of old so I guess some white people were already aware. And now that people are really aware, due to watching a man die right before their eyes on a video, what is going to change? I don’t know. I just hope and pray that laws are changed, new laws are made and that racists are taken out of positions of power. I know that black people will never fully be accepted in America or the world. There will always be someone who is racist towards blacks. But I believe that the more anti-racist individuals and black people unite in this world, the better it will be.
I don’t know what my future posts will be like. I know I still want to continue to share books, ideas, wins/losses and everything in between with you all. I am just caught up in my feelings right now. I hope each and every one of you continue to be well and whole. Find some peace in all this craziness. Stay safe. Much love 🧡💚