Wednesday, September 21, 2016

I'm Done. Now What?

I've hit a wall when it comes to tolerating the bullshit which keeps spraying at us when it comes to the murder of our black citizens.
I'm done.
Here's what Jessie wrote on Facebook today and I couldn't possibly have said better myself and I am so damn proud of her:

"When my husband and I found out we were having a boy, one of our first thoughts was how lucky this boy will be to live in a world where he is discriminated against the least. A white man. Wow. 
I am lucky, as a mother, because I don't have to spend my nights worrying about the greater chance of him being taken to jail or shot by police. Sure, he's human, so there's plenty for me to fret and worry about, but my life, my husband's life, and now my son's life is privileged because of the color of our skin. 
My heart is heavy for all the mamas that worry about their beautiful black men and boys every day. I really can't imagine having that stress on me, day and night. 
So, when I see white people (and some of these people are good people that I'm friends with on Facebook) say things like "All Live Matter" or "Blue Lives Matter" or "Colin Kaepernick needs to be kicked off the team", I get so mad. You people don't know what you're talking about. Just stop it. Please. Listen and learn some things. Your life is privileged due to the color of your skin. Be grateful and listen to your black brothers and sisters. They are hurting and they need us. Talking about race can be really uncomfortable, and honestly, I hate making anyone feel uncomfortable so I don't always bring up controversial topics. But it's sooo important. 
I am not colorblind. No one really is. Don't pretend you are.#blacklivesmatter"

Look- my family is white. We're like the poster children for white people. But you know what? That doesn't mean that we're not smart enough to figure out that what's going on in our country today is nothing short of murder. Murder after murder where the white murderer walks away, Scott free. And to tell you the truth, Jessie isn't someone who spends a lot of time just talking about stuff so when she wrote that today, especially the lines, "You people don't know what you're talking about. Just stop it." I was gobsmacked. 
She called it out. She said it true. 

Speak the truth and fear no man. 

Isn't that what we all have to do? 

Yeah. It is. 

I'm having a hard time tonight, trying to say exactly what I want to say. I'm not sure why this is. But I think what I really want to say is this- if you're going to spout racist bullshit at me in the guise of, well, FUCKING ANYTHING! I'm going to call you out. I don't care if you're my neighbor, my relative, my Facebook "friend." I am going to call that shit out and I am going to tell you that you have no idea what you're talking about and to just stop it. 

Shine a light, people. Shine a fucking light into the darkest corners of the darkest deeds. 

This isn't a carefully considered essay about racism and I'm sorry for that. But I'm too damn mad to write one of those tonight. This is just one white woman's words about the horrific things going on today. I am a woman, I am a mother, I am a grandmother. I am a human being with the capacity for empathy and also for righteous anger and for the ability to see that which is evil and to point it out if I'm just not too afraid to do it.  

Shine a goddamn light, y'all. 

Amen. 

Ms. Moon










16 comments:

  1. murder plain and simple. when a black man with his hands up and a stalled car gets treated like he is one of the FBI's most wanted and the cops start shouting commands instead of approaching the citizen and asking what the problem is and does he need help, no, instead they taze him and even that's not good enough because then they shoot to kill. any cop that afraid of black men, women, and children that they shoot on sight, well, they need to have a different job. and then they get away with it!!! murder plain and simple and their brethren close ranks and the justice department turns a blind eye. this country is fucked up and if Trump gets elected it will be out and out genocide of our black population.

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    1. I agree with every word you said. I just saw that the officer who shot him is being arrested for manslaughter. That's a start.

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  2. Yes. This. And what Jessie said. Thank you.

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    1. Don't thank us. Please. We are mothers, we are humans. We have hearts and minds and souls and children and husbands and brothers. We cannot truly KNOW but my god, we can understand.

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  3. I don't know how anyone can NOT see the injustice. I don't know how anyone can think that the colour of their skin is somehow a result of their own doing, and therefore a sign of intelligence or innate superiority. We all have zero to do with deciding our skin colour just as we have zero to do with deciding our gender, nose shape, shoe size, etc. etc. It is stupefying how thoughtless some people are, and it's way beyond thoughtless when guns and authority get involved. Good for Jessie for speaking up.

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    1. It is evil. I am so proud of my daughter. All of my children are empathetic and aware. We, in many ways, are different from "normal" and I think that has helped us in our empathy.

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  4. Everybody keeps telling me it will all be okay
    .
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ajp0Uaw4rqo



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  5. Goosebumps and tears. I haven't been brave enough to write a post like Jessie's, instead I share articles or posts by others about it, which basically 2 friends read and "like," I unfollow or unfriend or ignore and fume and shake my head and continue to post silly everyday things on Facebook. You've gotta just say it in your own voice like you and Jessie. I hate arguing. I hate conflict. I want everyone to like me. It's so ridiculous. That's exactly how we allow this stuff to go on. Thank you.

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    1. Bethany- you live by example. And it is a beautiful example. You show kindness and empathy to all living things. I love you. I wish you still blogged but I love your FB posts. They are not silly.

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  6. Absolutely.

    I think good people recognize the injustice but don't know what to do. Speaking up is a good first step -- I often fail on that count myself. There are several truths interwoven in these stories, including the ridiculous proliferation of guns, which is part of why police are so fearful and trigger-happy in the first place; conscious or unconscious racism about who and what presents a danger; and the outsized power of police unions, which resist any and all suggestion that officers are somehow at fault. ALL these problems need to be addressed, and they're big problems. I am not hopeful for a rapid solution.

    But we're making progress just by shining a light on the issues and talking about them. At least, I hope so -- and I realize it's easy for me to say because my skin isn't on the line in the same way that others' is.

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    1. I believe you are right. So many guns in the streets is definitely one reason that police are so quick to fear. And yet- somehow- the white people with guns who are suspected of crimes are way more apt to be taken into custody alive. These ARE big problems. HUGE. But we have to start by admitting we have a huge problem. And no, our skin isn't on the line but we are all one race. Scientifically and morally. Truly. We may not always see that but we are. We can no more turn our attention away from the way prejudice and bias affect our black citizens than we can turn it away from our gay and transgendered citizens. Or differently abled. And the list goes on. "Liberty and justice for all," the pledge says. No exceptions noted. I know you believe this to your soul.

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  7. Thank you lovely Ms. Moon. For your words and your amazing children who are the adults they are because you and Mr. Moon are the people you are.

    Thank you for shining your fucking light

    xoxoxo

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Tell me, sweeties. Tell me what you think.