I want to say something. I am so moved by the words others have said today, and during the last week, about racism in the US. When I try to say something it comes out weak, and not at all what I feel. What can you say after someone says, “I can’t breathe!” You can only listen and let that person breathe.
<rant color=white gender=ciswoman>Yeah, I knew adding to the blackout meme was questionable. Before I did it, I thought, I’m sure people are going to tell me why this is wrong to do. Mostly I thought it would be people from the “all lives matter” ilk. That I can deal with – they are kindly exposing their ignorance and latent racism with that response. Amazingly, a number of people that espoused that sentiment previously have finally figured out why it’s problematic. Others, such as my mother, are still refusing to listen. And I even anticipated the backlash of “you’re doing it wrong”… “this isn’t helping” … and worst of all “you’re hurting the cause”… And sure enough, those came out. Even though many people I love and admire joined in, and that moved me to stand in solidarity, I get it. I don’t want to silence anyone, even if they’re telling me to be silent. </rant>