ive found myself at an atypical loss for words lately, in light of what i can only own as a belated loss of innocence. ive been told I can be quite naïve but only now do i understand: ive vastly underestimated the degree to which my success &safety has been a product of both luck & privilege. its been luck & its been privilege that my familys bags have only been rifled through once in an airport because of our last name. its been luck & its been privilege that i havent had to use the mace i carry on my keychain just in case my habitual smile & nodded hello isnt enough to remind the strangers i pass that i, too, am a fellow human, a neighbor, a friend, & not a warm thing with holes to be mounted or punished or controlled. its been luck & its been privilege that my only experiences with the police have been what they should be: respectful, heroic, safe. im not good with details & look to community leaders for action cues. my brain is better with bigger pictures, tends to focus on the wind that connects crops rather than what the seeds it carries are carrying. the pattern ive noticed these past weeks, months, years, is that ***we as a society, as a species, pathologically forget one anothers humanity.*** there are explanations, roots, & instigators to this regrettable ability to ignore the status of another as a fellow, but the outcome is the same: blood. pain. danger. fear. distrust. disrespect. discrimination. rape. death. since its poetry friday, ill leave the rest to the real poet while i hug my nearest. #icantbreathe #alllivesmatter
Posted on: Fri, 05 Dec 2014 16:49:11 +0000