Dr. Rosalyn | Are You Really Ready to Hear Us?
It's only been a week since I wrote my last piece here, I know for me a record, but in that week two different men have been hung from trees--Black men, another Black man was shot by the police, a Tulsa police officer said more of us should be shot, Rand Paul held up federal anti-lynching legislation (well overdue and in the same week two men may have been lynched) and 46-1 refused to address the issues on any level but really thank you for that and said he wouldn't watch the NFL or any other sports that were allowing kneeling during the National Anthem (please look up the second verse to that). On the plus side Breonna's law was passed to ban no knock warrants in the city, the case of a Black woman who mysteriously died during a parent sleepover that NO one seems to know ANYTHING about was reopened, Black Lives Matter murals popped up on roads all over the country, the media coverage has tamped down but the protests have not and in a miracle truly born of the baby version of whatever deity (or no deity) you believe in the NFL admitted they were wrong--prompted by dozens of players releasing a video and a few employees who were willing to lose their jobs to push them forward. People tried to create beef between Don Lemmon and Dave Chappelle but all it did was create more dialogue about the issues.
The title comes from the fact that this was never just about George Floyd because in the time since he's death the police keep killing us and saying dumb stuff. And I will say again I know there are good officers out there but man it feels like y'all are outnumbered when you apologize for kneeling with protestors because you "felt pressured" instead of worked with your heart. If you feel that nervous or intimidated by the people you serve maybe this is not the job for you. It's about all the stuff you still don't know because you had no reason to learn it. You passed your history class and went on about your day. Even though we know that when we don't attend to history we tend to repeat the same poor decisions.
For all of you seeking to learn more, when you finish with your first book, pick up Lies My Teacher Told Me. It will inform you on how history, especially in this country, has always been warped to push a narrative. We are one of the only countries that let's the loser of internal conflicts have statues, public buildings and items named after them, and do not accurately classify some of the groups that are dedicated to them as hate/terror groups. You can't name your baby Hitler in Germany for example and there are not statues of him but that doesn't mean they forgot what happened. To the contrary they are very aware of it because they talk about it in accurate history books and are doing their best to not get back to that place. That doesn't mean they are perfect. Surprise but Black people in Germany still have it rough and are seen as outsiders because they are Black. Even though they have been there longer than Hitler from a variety of immigration points. And were unfortunately used in Nazi propaganda videos to prove the superiority of the Nazis.
You could also pick up a book called Black Russians. It's mostly about US soldiers who were treated so much better by the Russians they were freeing than the Americans they were fighting to protect that they never came home. Like I get it. K-12 education in this country is a hot mess especially in this realm. But most of the pigmented folks I know read other books because we know going into it we aren't getting the whole story. Don't assume that you have up to this point or that any of the markers we hold on to are really the reflections you want to hold on to. Other countries talk about their struggles with racism against what we refuse to do. Literally they frame it as "American racism" and how it's infecting their countries. As long as they are doing better than us they are happy. And a lot of them are at least willing to say you know what we didn't really understand before so tell us what to do so we don't do it again. Their indigenous people are telling them to read a book too. So there you're globally getting the same advice.
Make sure that as you learn and grow that you understand that it will be uncomfortable. We learn when we're uncomfortable. The things that come easy we don't need to value. You will probably be angry and frustrated as well. It's a weird place to suddenly realize that what you knew of the world isn't really accurate. Make sure that as you share that frustration that you aren't ignoring the experiences of others because then it sounds like you are more invested in what was than what can be. That's it for today.
The title comes from the fact that this was never just about George Floyd because in the time since he's death the police keep killing us and saying dumb stuff. And I will say again I know there are good officers out there but man it feels like y'all are outnumbered when you apologize for kneeling with protestors because you "felt pressured" instead of worked with your heart. If you feel that nervous or intimidated by the people you serve maybe this is not the job for you. It's about all the stuff you still don't know because you had no reason to learn it. You passed your history class and went on about your day. Even though we know that when we don't attend to history we tend to repeat the same poor decisions.
For all of you seeking to learn more, when you finish with your first book, pick up Lies My Teacher Told Me. It will inform you on how history, especially in this country, has always been warped to push a narrative. We are one of the only countries that let's the loser of internal conflicts have statues, public buildings and items named after them, and do not accurately classify some of the groups that are dedicated to them as hate/terror groups. You can't name your baby Hitler in Germany for example and there are not statues of him but that doesn't mean they forgot what happened. To the contrary they are very aware of it because they talk about it in accurate history books and are doing their best to not get back to that place. That doesn't mean they are perfect. Surprise but Black people in Germany still have it rough and are seen as outsiders because they are Black. Even though they have been there longer than Hitler from a variety of immigration points. And were unfortunately used in Nazi propaganda videos to prove the superiority of the Nazis.
You could also pick up a book called Black Russians. It's mostly about US soldiers who were treated so much better by the Russians they were freeing than the Americans they were fighting to protect that they never came home. Like I get it. K-12 education in this country is a hot mess especially in this realm. But most of the pigmented folks I know read other books because we know going into it we aren't getting the whole story. Don't assume that you have up to this point or that any of the markers we hold on to are really the reflections you want to hold on to. Other countries talk about their struggles with racism against what we refuse to do. Literally they frame it as "American racism" and how it's infecting their countries. As long as they are doing better than us they are happy. And a lot of them are at least willing to say you know what we didn't really understand before so tell us what to do so we don't do it again. Their indigenous people are telling them to read a book too. So there you're globally getting the same advice.
Make sure that as you learn and grow that you understand that it will be uncomfortable. We learn when we're uncomfortable. The things that come easy we don't need to value. You will probably be angry and frustrated as well. It's a weird place to suddenly realize that what you knew of the world isn't really accurate. Make sure that as you share that frustration that you aren't ignoring the experiences of others because then it sounds like you are more invested in what was than what can be. That's it for today.
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