THE WHITE BUBBLE

New day

There are places in this country who don’t understand the outrage over the innocent death of a black woman at the hands of our law enforcement. They don’t understand it because stuff like that never happens within their own community. Not once have they been pulled over for a minor traffic violation only to be pulled from their vehicle and abused or murdered. Not once have they been followed around by a security guard while shopping. Not once have they been stopped and questioned/ threatened while walking through a neighborhood. The very few people of color that they have had any interaction with are those who work in the service industry.

I grew up in a white bubble.

In order to empathize with someone’s experience you must be willing to believe them as they see it and not how you imagine their experience to be. - Brene Brown

I was told by someone this week that racial injustice was just something “we learned to live with”. You know why it was so easy for that person to ‘live’ with racial injustice? It’s because that person is white and has never experienced discrimination due to the color of his/her skin. That person might also say that they themselves have never treated a person of color any differently than anybody else. Maybe that’s true, but that person doesn’t interact with people of color. He/she doesn’t have to be racially sensitive. In their bubble, people of color have a specific ‘place’ and as long as they stay in that ‘place’ all is well. In order to empathize with someone’s experience you must also be willing to step outside of your bubble. You must be willing to do this with open eyes and you must be willing do this with ears prepared for listening to hear, not to respond.

A mother’s love for her children is universal. It transcends race. It is a unifying emotion. So, here is a question for any mother who has lost a child. What is the monetary value of that lost child? Like, how much money could they give you and you be okay with the death of your child? Breonna Taylor’s family is set to receive 12 million dollars from a lawsuit with the city of Louisville, KY. This wrongful death suit was settled before any criminal charges were brought up for those responsible for Breonna’s death. The city, by settling this lawsuit, admits, ADMITS, that Breonna’s death was a heinous error. They admit it, but fail to hold any one accountable for that error. Now, imagine this is your child. What do you think? Is $12 million enough for you? Is that how much your child is worth?

What if Breonna had been a white woman?

There are some really great police officers out there doing their jobs every day. But there are also some real racist, trigger happy police officers out there too. Those racist, trigger happy police officers need to be held accountable for their crimes.

THANKFUL FRIDAY

A glimpse of the plaza lights

elephant_soap's photo on Instagram

I don't understand what's happening in this country recently and I'm having a really hard time talking about the things I am grateful for this week without sounding vapid and shallow. I see a serious imbalance of justice happening around me and I feel powerless to stop it. It didn't start with Ferguson and Michael Brown and it hasn't ended with Eric Garner. It's just that these particular incidents are the ones that have set most of us off with an "Enough!". 

I hear people around me discussing the protests and riots in Ferguson. They all talk about how the protests and riots make little sense. They use terms like "they" "them" and "those people". Of course these voices I'm hearing are coming from white privileged people and they don't realize that when say things like "those people" they are adding another barrier, another wall of separation. Because there is no them or they or those people. There is only us and we all share this space. "I just can't imagine." This is something I heard from people often after Chris died. Any time someone would say that to me, I'd want to scream at them. Of course you can't imagine what it's like to go through what I've gone through. Who sits around and daydreams about their loved one getting sick and dying of cancer? You can't imagine it because you've never experienced it. I've heard that same phrase often in the past few weeks in regards to Ferguson, except instead of death being the unimaginable thing, it's the destruction of public property. I think this is such a myopic way to look at it because it's not about broken windows or burnt out cars. It's about discrimination. It's about being shoved down and pushed around so many times that you start shoving and pushing back. If someone attacks you, don't you fight back? Human instinct usually is to fight back.

No, as a white woman I can't imagine what it's like to be judged because the color of my skin. I can't imagine what it's like to spend every day under suspicion. I can imagine though that over time, that constant judgment and suspicion can wear down a person. I also know that I would never want to be judged for the color of my skin. I would never want to be judged period. And I think that's what I want to say to the people talking around me. Would you want to be treated that way? I've heard people bitch and moan about a cop pulling them over and handing out a ticket for speeding or running a red light. What if that cop was pulling you over for no other reason than he didn't like the way you looked? Again. Would you want to be treated that way? Now it's very clear that if you are a black person, you're not only going to lose a maybe perfect driving record, you may also lose your life. 

I am thankful for the voices that speak up and out. I am thankful for those voices who will not give up in this fight. I am thankful for those voices who inspire others to speak up and fight against injustice. I am thankful for those of us who can see that there is a serious problem here and an imbalance of justice. I am thankful for those of us who see this problem and desperately want to help to make a change.