Since the beginning of the Ferguson coverage a few months ago, I have admired the strength and eloquence with which people I am proud to call my friends have expressed their outrage at the injustices that have occurred. As someone who is continuing to educate herself about the systems of privilege and oppression, I felt insecure in similarly expressing my heartbreak and outrage. I fear my silence on the matter has made me complacent, and rather than take the risk of sounding stupid, Ive hid behind my privilege and fueled the systems of power that are at play. Sadly, there are individuals on my feed who do not understand why Michael Brown deserves justice. Why people are hurt and angry. Why it is sickening that Darren Wilson is walking free. And that is why I cannot sit silent any longer. To these individuals, let me try to explain the best way I know how, because you, for the most part, are likely like me. I have lived my whole life with many privileges which have allowed me to pass through this world with much ease: -They have allowed me to turn a blind eye on many matters of injustice because it is likely I will never be directly impacted by them. -When I walk into a store I am warmly greeted by the people who work there. -When I walking towards someone on the street, they do not cross to the other side out of fear. -When I am walking alone at night, I feel comforted by a police presence, because surely they are there to protect me and nothing in my direct experience has led me to believe otherwise. -Should I get pulled over for speeding, there is a good chance I will get let off with a warning. -During my time living in New York, I was not once stopped and frisked (though saw it happen on numerous occasions - all of which were men of color). Yes, as a woman, there are still axes of oppression that I have to face. But there are many people in this country who do not have half of the privileges that I detailed above. There are people out there who have been given good reason to fear the police. I do not think all police are evil or corrupt. I have even had many positive police role models in my life. But the police, like any other occupation, consist of individuals who are subject to the same societal messages, biases, and oppressive perspectives that we (people with privilege) continue to enable. The difference is they are supposed to protect and serve all people. They have access to a certain power to ensure that they do this. By turning a blind eye, we as a society are saying that they do not need to be held accountable when they screw up. This needs to stop today. We need to hold individuals accountable for their actions. Our inaction is allowing them to get away with taking lives. We are not giving them a reason not to. We need to be better. We need to demand a better system. From this point forward, I am going to do my best to use my privilege to amplify the voices of others, and to speak when others cannot. “While we understand that many others share our pain, we ask that you channel your frustration in ways that will make a positive change. We need to work together to fix the system that allowed this to happen.” - Michael Browns family https://indiegogo/projects/ferguson-defense-fund
Posted on: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 12:15:50 +0000
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