The world is in outrage this week, and rightly so. Left right and center we are seeing our cities and social media light up with the fervor of a brewing rebellion. Writing this comes as a challenge to me, so much of the last few months feels beyond comprehension – but it was all leading to this moment when things finally boiled over.
It needed to happen. Those of us who speak from a place of privilege and denial needed to be outraged, my only question is why did it take so long? Did things really need to get so terrible everywhere that peaceful marches and speeches were no longer enough, so bad we could no longer pretend that it was a problem somewhere else? Only an American problem, only a midwest problem, only an Alberta problem?
The answer is of course, and why? The simple reason that this discussion has happened over and over again in peaceful ways with a lot of follow up lip service and not much else. What is happening is not surprising, and though I like to think I grew up feeling like everyone should be treated with the same kind of decency, I know full well that this is not the world reality. Furthermore, I know I have allowed myself to do very little outside of my own circle of impact – meaning the people I personally interact with – and as such lived in the kind of denial that so many white people are guilty of. I knew the problem exists, I was deeply troubled hearing about crimes committed towards the BIPOC community, but because I wasn’t seeing it in my reality it was not something I was seeking out. So, if I as a person who grew up feeling like all people should be seen as equals to be treated with respect can allow myself to lose sight of the injustices, imagine a whole system built on perpetuating the opposite kind of attitude. More to come, this is only beginning one can only hope that for once the result is action.
Dice 