Know That Your Indifference Towards Oppression is Considered Consent

And stop with your “neutral” position — that’s just another lame excuse for your ignorance.

The least that can be said about the events hitting the African-American community is that they are outrageous and shameful. What really frustrates me is the fact that some people chose to remain “neutral” in the face of such events — as if neutrality was even a thing.

“With a great moral issue involved, neutrality does not serve righteousness; for to be neutral between right and wrong is to serve wrong” — Theodore Roosevelt

Don’t you think it is our duty as human beings to stand up for the oppressed and help each other make this world a better place?

Don’t you agree that when good people do nothing, evil becomes more powerful?

Besides, who said politicians are the only people responsible for fighting injustice?

Many people do not seem to understand the dangers of letting chaos and injustice unchecked — it drives me insane! When did people become so selfish to believe that their privileges make them less accountable in the face of oppression?

In The Presence of Cruelty and Oppression, Being Passive Becomes As Political As Speaking Out

Speaking Up about injustice is not reserved for politicians. This is just another excuse used by those who are not willing to listen or learn about what is happening to people other than themselves. They would only care if it was something affecting their own lives — only then would they start talking “politics”. When you talk to them about injustices happening to people of colour or minorities, trying to prove to them that there is something wrong with the system, they all give the same response:

“I have never experienced anything like it… I don’t agree with you… the system has always supported me. Those people standing up against it only want chaos and violence… they should be grateful to the system”.

Those words remind me of the conversations I’ve had with people who play the “I don’t talk politics” card every time there is a discussion about topics surrounding oppression and dictatorship in the Arab world — the same absurd, ignorant and selfish way of thinking.

It is time for such ignorant people to understand that being passive becomes as political as speaking out. I strongly believe that understanding politics and having a position should have a higher priority in our lives. Whether you like it or not, politics is more than just laws and governments being made. Every law and every decision has an impact on your life. Your financial stability, your education, your access to life necessities like water and food, your freedom of speech, your freedom of religion, your career choices — just everything. So how could you possibly withdraw yourself from speaking and learning about it. If you choose not to get involved, you are allowing others to define your way of life. You do not need to be a politician to do otherwise. If you’re not a victim of it today, you will eventually be the victim tomorrow.

The Denial of Injustice is Itself a Crime

While some people choose to remain passive, others deny entirely the presence of injustice. They are so accustomed to privilege that they start to believe that everyone is having it the same way. Those are simply ignorant people who have no clue about what is going on outside their privileged circle. Even worse, those who choose to deny it out of greediness.

That is often true when it comes to countries ruled by dictatorships. Those are people who fear the loss of privileges if the system supporting them was to vanish. They care about no one else but themselves and for that, they are willing to do and say anything to keep the oppressive system in place. As long as they are not the ones suffering, injustice is nonexistent in their eyes and they even dare to defend it if they need to. I personally find those to be the worst of people.

I would rather have someone deny injustice as a result of ignorance than having to deal with someone who is totally aware of it and simply feels indifferent about it.

Ignorance can be educated — but the indifference to other humans and the lack of compassion imply a way more dangerous problem.

I strongly believe that it is a crime by itself. One of the consequences of indifference is that it makes people believe that actions are always choices when they are in fact obligations in the face of injustice.

Choosing a Side Between Right and Wrong is Not a Matter of Opinion

To be clear, I am not referring to the origins of morality and what defines it — that is a completely different discussion. What I am trying to say is that choosing a side between the oppressor and the oppressed, or justice and injustice, is not a freedom of choice.

If you choose the side of injustice, do not expect me to respect that choice. When your positions and actions stand in the way of justice, they are not entitled to any form of respect or appreciation.

Always remember that for evil to succeed, all it needs is people who chose to do nothing — So don’t be one of them. If you choose to, stop claiming that you’re in favour of peace because you’re not!

“True peace is the presence of justice and not merely the absence of tension. “— Martin Luther King Jr.

Your voice and actions are important, and if you happen to be one of the privileged, know that you have a bigger responsibility to take action in the fight against injustice. As long as there are people oppressed, you will never be free. Keeping that injustice unchecked will sooner or later make you a victim the same way it once did to the unprivileged ones.

The first thing we need to do is to listen to the pain of others and learn about it — Only then can we start to become part of the change.