Hey folks. So . . . this past week has been . . . interesting . . . to say the least . . .
Ugh, where to even begin.
There is so much negativity in the world right now, particularly in the good ole U. S. of A. I keep feeling more and more disappointed in the country that I used to love, that I genuinely believed was the greatest country in the world because from a young age, we are taught that this is true. It’s not, not by a long shot. We have so many problems here and it isn’t any wonder that everything has gone to shit.
I never talk about politics or current events on this blog. For one thing, that is not its purpose. The purpose of this blog is for me to geek out about books, to chat with other book nerds, and generally be a place of positivity. It has helped me with my depression in more ways than one and I am constantly thankful for the people who have followed me on this blogging journey. That said, it’s really difficult to be silly and upbeat with what is going on right now.
My news feeds all over social media are about people who are hurting and are scared and are rightfully angry. At first, I didn’t say much about it, because what could I possibly say? I am a white, cis-gendered female. I am fully aware that I will NEVER understand what Black people go through, or really any person of color, in my country. I’ve never been terrified of police. Ever. Annoyed? Yes. Nervous about getting a speeding ticket? Sure. But never afraid that I might not walk away from the situation alive. How could I understand that fear? I can’t, and because of that, I felt like I had nothing really to contribute to the conversation.
Then one of my Facebook friends said something that really hit home. He said that he was noticing the white people who were staying silent. Who weren’t posting. Who weren’t amplifying Black voices and drawing attention to the atrocities being committed. At a time like this, staying silent can easily be seen as accepting the status quo. And while I can’t do much, I can certainly say something. I can’t go out and join the protests in my city due to health issues (since we’re also still in a global pandemic, good Lord, can the giant meteor just hit us already?), but there are other things that I can do. Support my friends. Share resources. Donate what I can to organizations trying to help. Witness the hurt and anger and acknowledge that while George Floyd’s murderers were actually arrested and brought up on charges, that is still a long way from being convicted and being sentenced. And know that while these disgusting individuals were arrested and charged, so many times in these cases the murderers walk free without even a slap on the wrist.
Even though it feels like I can’t do much, I can do MORE. We all can.
I will end this with two links that I found helpful:
75 Things White People Can Do for Racial Justice by Corinne Shutack at Medium.com. This is a pretty extensive list. I’ve started going through some of the points, mostly researching my local police and sheriff departments to see where they stand.
A Guide to Anti-Racist Resources by Nox the Reader. Shout out to a fellow book blogger who put together this amazing post. Not only does Nox give a nice list of books to read to educate yourself about being anti-racist, she also has contact information, lists of places to donate money, and helpful hints about attending protests in your city.
Also including one of my favorite protest signs that I’ve seen.
Categories: Drabbles
Life With No Plot 
Great post! It is hard to watch what is going on around us without giving up or running into the streets screaming. Not possible for me, either…the running into the streets part..
Ever since this current “president” moved into the White House, the horror show has continued on a daily basis, from the horrendous tweet rants and inciting of violence and racism to the corruption overall.
It is hard not to post about these things, since we never know how others are reacting to events. But, like posts on FB, we can scroll on by if we don’t agree.
Sometimes finding and using our voice does matter, though. So thanks for sharing your thoughts!
It’s really hard to know what to say. I was avoiding saying anything, mostly because I didn’t want to say the WRONG thing, you know? But my Facebook friend was right: if you don’t say anything, it looks like acceptance, and that’s definitely what I didn’t want. I probably won’t write more on this subject, but instead share posts from others, especially from Black Americans. They are the voices that really need to be heard right now.
I really disagree with the social pressure to get people to speak up, mainly because what should be an apolitical bipartisan issue is being used to Trojan Horse leftist politics (anti-police, anarchist, far-left politics). So I think you should stop with the whole “silence is violence” schtick. It’s an indoctrinating tactic, and I would NOT say that if BLM was a bipartisan movement.
But if you want to talk about donating, I just made a donation a couple of days ago to backstoppers. I highly encourage people to give to them over BLM.
77-year-old black man David Dorn who was murdered by looters-his family has asked people to donate to either Crimestoppers or Backstoppers. Backstoppers provides financial assistance to the families of fallen police officers.
I’ve pledged to make a second donation of $55 if anyone else donates and provides a receipt.
And I will respectfully disagree with you on your stance that people shouldn’t speak up if they are in a position to do so. BLM shouldn’t be a partisan issue but our current political climate has made it so. I would also not say that I am anti-police, although most of what I have seen has been police officers escalating what start out as peaceful protesting, something that is our Constitutional right to do. In general, police officers that overstep their bounds are not punished. There is nothing wrong with having respect and admiration for law enforcement, but also wanting them to be held to a much higher standard.
Thank you for sharing the organizations you are supporting. They definitely sound like worthy places to support.