There was so much on my mind when I sat down to write today. So many topics. So many experiences. So many songs. So much going on. I had a hard time narrowing the scope to decide what was most pressing. That’s just it though, there was one thing that I couldn’t push out of my mind, no matter how hard I tried.
To be clear, I wasn’t trying super hard to push the issue out of my head generally. I want to keep it at the forefront of my cognitive processing, and I’ll explain why in just a bit. I guess if I’m expressing myself more appropriately, I was looking to push away the negative feelings I have swirling around in my head. I was looking to dissipate my anxiety. I was looking to alleviate some of my pain and fear and disappointment.
A long time ago, I remember seeing a meme or a post where the following sentiment was relayed: I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that, and then I realized that I’m somebody. Wow, right? We’ve chatted about this before, albeit in different forms. The bystander effect. Apathy. Anti-racism. It’s not enough to be grumpy about shit and rail about it on social media or to your friends. Sorry, but you really do have to be the change you want to see in the world.
Let me get to the point, eh? I was away for Thanksgiving with family. Cocooned in some sense. I was chatting with a friend when I got home, and they advised me that the Proud Boys had staged a gathering in the town one over from me. My reaction to this news was very one-wordish and sort of meh. If I’m completely honest, I was shell-shocked. Sick. Terrified.
Here’s some more honesty for you….
I wanted to instantly put up something on social media, but it felt pathetic in the grander scheme of things. Also, I kind of didn’t want to start shit. Can you imagine? How insane. But that’s really what went through my mind. I wanted to disavow this group. I wanted to do the work to expose anyone who participated or supported this revolting meeting of poison-filled and hateful minds. I wanted to do all the things and also, nothing at all. I wanted to hide. I wanted to move, but to where?
According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, a brilliant and well-run organization that I proudly support, the Proud Boys “insist they are simply a fraternal group spreading an “anti-political correctness” and “anti-white guilt” agenda….[but their] actions belie their disavowals of bigotry: Rank-and-file Proud Boys and leaders regularly spout white nationalist memes and maintain affiliations with known extremists. They are known for anti-Muslim and misogynistic rhetoric.” The thing is, you don’t have to believe the SPLC, or me for that matter, because you can see it for yourself, no? Google them. Don’t even read articles if you think everything is fake news. Just look at the photos. Read the posters spouting hateful, disgusting jargon and rhetoric. Look at faces filled with rage and disgust and everything that’s broken in our society.
I’ve shared this before, many a time, but I was raised in a family filled with open-mindedness. Chock full of acceptance. I have friends and acquaintances that share some of my views and some that share most of my views and some that share none at all. I am friends with folks who are way more conversative than myself. I am friends with folks who are way more religious than I am. I have a point of view, but I’m willing to make space. That’s what we do, right? We create room for people to be who they are and believe what they believe. I’ve shared this many times, so you know this, but it’s important so it bears repeating.
I am also a believer that education cures many evils. That goes for all sides, too. This is not just me thinking that I need to educate others to my side of the fence. Oh no. I think we can all stand to learn. To hear. To listen. To expand our view. We may not always get to agreement, but in the best way possible, we can come to understand better and that’s a really lovely thing.
We cannot give up on the notion that people can be and should be better educated. I also think we need to generally understand that when people are frustrated and down on their luck and backed into a corner, they often latch onto the notion that there is some outside force or being to blame. They might create the focal point or they might latch onto garbage that someone else has tossed their way, disguised as a lift raft or ventilation point. Said otherwise, there is a method to the grotesque madness. So yes, we need to look at the source. The starting point. Even when we are enraged and want to toss in the towel, we need to persevere and understand that to cure an illness, we can’t just endlessly manage symptoms. We have to seek out the root cause.
But also….
But…
When something is a giant pile of steaming, hateful shit, we have to shout that out. We have to condemn hatred and bigotry and inequity and insanity. We cannot fear that our voice is too small or our impact too generic. We cannot imagine such a lack of significance that trying seems a waste. We cannot desire being nice and blending in more than we care for one another and deeply want for a world that is kinder and more equitable. We have to feel fear and do it anyway. We have to do it because of our fear. We have to do it because of so many who feel rational but unfair fear every single day. Every. Single. Day.
I loathe that racist, discriminatory, hateful, misogynistic crap has been scooped up and dumped on my door step and all over my neighborhood. But what’s really tragic is that we all know this isn’t the beginning. It’s not even the middle. We are well into this journey and have been for a long time. This is just the part where people are too tired to make nice and put on a happy face and fake it until they make it. This is when the gloves come off and shit gets real.
There’s no such thing as violence that cures political correctness or white guilt. That is nonsensical garbage. Lies. These are white supremacists dressed up as con artists at our feet my friends. Are you going to wait for somebody or are you going to be somebody?
Choose wisely. The fate of our future is in our hands.
x
L.
thepathtoworthy.com 