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esskay
Digital storyteller, Photographic narrator, Hogwarts alum. In real life, I write things. I speak fluent sarcasm. I'm unintentionally funny. My favorite thing is food. Guac is life. I'm a fountain of the most random information. I'm pretty, only because it's weird to call oneself beautiful. I'm weird in all the good ways. I live in the greatest city on Earth. I was Sasha before Beyonce was schizophrenic. My life is stranger than fiction. But please, don't take my word for it. My pen is mightier than my sword. Instagram
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Tuesday, November 25, 2014 || 4:25 PM
I usually don't do this. And even as I'm writing these words, I really just want to turn off this computer and television and fall off the face of the Earth but I can't. I guess what prompted this was my friends. There will always be strangers on the internet who don't agree with how you feel and it is what it is. There will always be trolls who just say shit to get a reaction and it's whatever. But I love my friends dearly. I want them to live long and fulfilling lives, see their children and grandchildren grow up and have all the success in the world. But you know, as most of them are black, who knows?The real reason I'm writing anything at all is because I've seen people's reactions in the hours following the decision in Ferguson. And most of what I've seen is expected, just like the decision itself. Which is really sad but there it is. But honestly, I've been a bit disappointed in my friends. I've seen everything from "what about black on black crime" and "would we be this mad if Mike Brown killed Trayvon Martin," to "this happened because no one wants to be a youth leader in the church." I'm not saying that all of those things aren't true but not only is the timing extremely inappropriate, those things are irrelevant right now. We just had a prosecutor (who honestly sounded more like a defense attorney) stand on national television and blame everyone EXCEPT the murderer for this. This man went as far as to blame social media. It's Twitter's fault that Mike Brown is dead. Now, as if that's not bad enough, WE are blaming everyone but the murderer. We're like battered women, conditioned to believe it's our fault, blaming ourselves for a murder we didn't commit. It's our fault because black people always kill each other. It's our fault because no one wants to take responsibility for our youth. Change starts at home. We love to compare ourselves to crabs in a barrel, never stopping to think that a barrel isn't a crab's natural habitat. I'm not saying the points being made are wrong. On the contrary, black on black crime is a problem. But so is homelessness and unemployment and don't get me started on that bitch Sallie Mae. But people have a right to be hurt about this because we live in a country where our lives are seemingly worthless, where mothers are sending their children out and wondering every second whether or not they're going to come back. And those feelings are completely valid. So yes, those other problems do exist but they have no place in this conversation. Changing the subject is exactly why these things keep happening. So instead of changing the subject, let's work on changing the system. Let's educate ourselves on the issues and vote people into office who will properly represent us. Don't just show up when a black person runs for president and ignore everything else. Our ancestors fought for the right to vote and we waste it. We know every detail about Love and Hip Hop and Scandal but can't hold a conversation about what's going on in our government. So to my friends, I love you guys and I say this with love: shutting the fuck up costs NOTHING. So do that. Because Trayvon Martin and Renisha McBride and Mike Brown and the countless other names, they never killed anyone, black or white. A youth leader could not have helped them. They were murdered because someone was uncomfortable with the color of their skin. And the same way it happened to them, it could happen to you and I because THAT is the world we currently live in. I love you guys, I really do. But shut the fuck up, bruh. Know justice, know peace. Labels: babble and rant, in real life |