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I’ve seen this circulating and it is true BUT...it goes deeper.
For us white people to get so tired and disgusted with our own S T I N K ...that’s what it takes to get attention at a mass level.
This is what has to happen in order for us to see that it’s not any single act of racism that is the sole problem, as painful and heartbreaking as they are to witness.
This is our history. It has been happening for hundreds of years. The individual acts of racism we are seeing thanks to them being recorded, while painful and heartbreaking, aren’t the full scope of what’s really going on. They are symptoms of a chronic disease. We are not well, as a society and we haven’t been for ages. (And not because of Covid but it’s a perfect example with its disproportionate number of black deaths related to the virus, that’s a function of the inaccessibility to quality health care and so much more).
Underneath the symptoms, it’s our systems and structures that are founded on white supremacy... White centricity is imprinted in everything - it’s everywhere. Everything. Everywhere. This structure was created, supported and enforced by white people, who benefited from (and who still benefit from) maintaining the superiority of whites/inequality and keeping people of colour oppressed. It is very hard to see when you are white and in it (letting go of ego required) but once you do understand, you can’t un-see it or un-know it. I know I can’t.
We cannot only say we won’t stand for this bullsh*t because we won’t for damn sure ...But it’s not that simple. We need to OPEN our minds, unpack our programmed bias and prejudice, in all the areas we hold it, many we don’t even know we hold until someone calls it out. When I say “we” I mean us as individuals as well as organizations, corporate cultures, government institutions. It’s going to be painful because it’s everywhere and it’s inside of us. But it’s necessary. It’s overdue.
Now that it has our collective attention(for those that can look beyond themselves and their ego, anyway), we can start to do something about it. Silence is not the answer.
It’s time to correct what our ancestors couldn’t or wouldn’t. #itstime
