Dear Fellow White People,
Here’s how I feel about racism and rioting.
Tears fill my eyes, my chest feels tight, and my body is sore from being tense. This is real. This is now.
Last night, I cried. This morning, I didn’t want to get out of bed.
But, I’m not a black person. If I feel this way, I cannot even begin to fathom how they feel. Not even close.
Dear white family and friends who, in the last day, have said things like “rioting isn’t the answer,” “what you have done to our city (looting) is disgusting,” or “violence never solved anything.”
Do you know what’s actually not the answer? Not educating yourself. Do you know what’s disgusting? Murdering people due to their skin color. Do you know how the USA was founded? War. And, many of you support that.
Dear angry white people who are so infuriated by the protests, why are you so vocal about the effect but not about the cause?
For a little more insight on police brutality against black people, read about the final moments of only a few black people’s lives who were ended by a police officer:
Tamir Rice, a 12-year old boy, was playing in the park.
Botham Jean was eating ice cream in his living room.
Breonna Taylor was sleeping in her bed.
Ahmaud Arbery was out for an afternoon jog.
And, this does not even begin to scratch the surface. Not even close.
Police officers are also not the only ones to blame, of course. Many police officers are heroes. Many non-police officers have murdered a black person out of hate.
I cannot speak for black people. I am a privileged white person. But, from what I can see, they are never safe. They are never heard.
What I can speak for is the number of white people who lock their car doors or go the other direction because they spot a person with black or brown skin.
If you are a white person who feels terrified of the looting that is occurring around us today, can you imagine how scared you would feel if you couldn’t safely go for a run? Or safely go for a drive? Or safely eat ice cream on your couch? Never knowing if and when you will be shot, or suffocated, to your death.
Yes, yes, I know. Witnessing the burning of buildings, windows being shattered, and family-owned businesses being robbed is absolutely awful. It’s devastating. If we would feel even half as devastated about the fact that black people are so infuriated that they don’t know what else to do, then maybe we would be on our way to solving the problem.
Our (white people’s) privilege has protected us from ever knowing what it’s like to feel like violence is the only way to be heard. Instead of judging and getting angry, not providing real solutions, we ought to spend more time digging deeper into the root. Why violence? Why outrage?
You’re right:
Violent protesting is not the answer, it’s the question.
I’d like to make note of the fact that this is simply me speaking from my heart. I don’t want to claim to understand the lives of those who are victims of racism.
