Documenting one of my few more thoughtful and meaningful posts from social media
It’s come to this. I feel the need to vent, if anything, to help me organize my thoughts and feelings and to invite discussion to help me grow.
I’ve been silent about the current state of affairs because:
- I don’t believe I know enough and am mature enough to make a meaningful and proper statement about black lives matters movement.
- I’ve been privileged enough to have avoided direct racial discrimination.
Last week has been one of reflection and education, where social media has in-fact benefitted my understanding of racial injustice and inequality through simple memes and comics.
1. “All Lives Matter”
Here’s a simple comic that illustrates why All Lives Matter is a terrible anti-movement:
Another great statement that’s been circulating:
I’ve previously stated “I don’t see colour” in one of my older blog post here. I now understand my short-sightedness and how that statement is used as an anti-movement statement in a similar way.
2. Looting.
Trevor Noah has a pretty good statement on the contract of society and why the oppressed are driven so far as to break it:
It has helped me understand why, but as an entrepreneur who’s passionate about supporting the small business (SMB) community, I do feel the hurt that SMB owners are going through. First the drought from the lockdown, now further property damage, loss of merchandise, and even curfew regulation?! For some, it must feel like everything is going against them for no reason at all.
This is only one of many statements from some of the small business owners out there who are victims of looting incidents.
I do believe looters are the exception, and possibly in some cases, agent provocateurs. I urge all those going out and attending protests to maintain sensibility and call out the ones who are not behaving appropriately.
Protest by all means, change needs to happen, and yes, I agree with Trevor – there’s no “correct” way to protest. The fundamental act of protesting is to go against that which is in power, and they will always say that what you’re doing is “wrong” or “inappropriate”.
Stay safe out there, self-isolate if you’ve been out en-masse, don’t forget we’re still in the midst of a pandemic. If you choose to bring your children with you, be smart about it and keep them far from danger.
3. On the police system.
Yes, it’s broken. Chris Rock gave a great example:
I know it’s not easy, police are the ones that also have to risk their lives in heated moments, it’s hard to build a stringent and perfect system around that, but what has happened has definitely pointed out some big problems in the existing architecture of many law enforcement organizations.
How some officers are handling the situation isn’t helping either. Shoving over an elderly, pepper-spraying children, firing pellets at point-blank, etc. are just some of the many things I’ve seen in my feed last week.
Yes, there shouldn’t be that many bad apples. For the good apples out there, don’t succumb to the bystander effect – call out your colleagues who aren’t behaving appropriately!
What pains me the most is the blanket generalization that is happening on both ends. Don’t be a hypocrite and stereotype all cops as bad cops (I’ve seen that even firefighters are getting some flake now too). I know some amazing cops and firefighters out there and I’m sure they didn’t join this profession to be a psychopath or to abuse their authority.
Self-employment has made me more vocal it seems. I don’t have to worry about how my statements will affect my employer and I get to take a stance on what I believe in and fuck all who don’t align with me.
What will I do now? How will I act? I don’t know yet but I sure hope that by sharing and engaging in discourse, I can help further propagate awareness and change behaviours.
If I’ve been a victim of misinformation, please correct me and educate me.
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