Today is the four-month anniversary of Breonna Taylor's murder. The officers who murdered her are still walking around free.
Silence and turning the other cheek has finally become a live neon sign that is electrifying the world. For generations, we have listened, but have not heard. We have witnessed, but have not risen up. Until now, we of white privilege have not fully taken a collective stand against racism, oppression and injustice.
This is a quote based rant. I happen to love quotes, and am sharing some hard-hitting words that I could not state more eloquently. In these quotes, are voices of reason, voices that have shed light on oppression, racism and injustice. These first few quotes by Robert F. Kennedy are words of truth, compassion and urgency to bring change
“Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eye and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice.”
~Robert F. Kennedy~
“Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.” ~Robert F. Kennedy~
Are we too busy in our privileged lives that we prefer tolerating injustice because it’s more convenient than fighting for justice? Are we so afraid to stand for equality that we voluntarily wade in this pool of corruption? For those who refuse to speak up and speak out, you are the problem.
These racists can close their eyes to centuries of oppression, they can throw tantrums over confederate statues being torn down, but know this. The thousands of years of oppression have finally stricken that blow. That ripple just became an earthquake and the aftermath will change the narrative to TRUE justice, and freedom for ALL.
We have a screwed up social system, and it’s time for change…it’s time for Justice for ALL! These next few quotes are stellar examples of the injustice within our social system and institutions.
“Rather than justice for all, we are evolving into a system of justice for those who can afford it. We have banks that are not only too big to fail, but too big to be held accountable.” ~Joseph E. Stiglitz~
“If the misery of the poor be caused not by the laws of nature, but by our institutions, great is our sin.” ~Charles Darwin, Voyage of the Beagle~
We see this in our prison for profit system, and in the fact that when the same crime is committed by a rich man and a poor man, the poor man serves time, and the rich man does not. If you have not seen the movie 13th, I highly recommend it, you will be educated on past and present corruption, oppression and injustice.
After watching 13th, I came across this quote:
“Man cannot be freed by the same injustice that enslaved it.”~Pierce Brown, Red Rising~
We have got to change our justice system, or should I say injustice system. After watching this movie, I was beyond sick to my stomach. Lawmakers are passing laws written by a non profit, "American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)" that is profiting and giving kickbacks to private prisons so that they will keep non-violent-criminals in prison longer for profit. This "non-profit" who as of 2017, it's board was 100% Republican, literally allows it's donors (corporations), and politicians to help write laws such as "three strikes", and "stand your ground." Both of these laws benefit the corporations who fund ALEC, and of course the political party that is the board majority. If you recall, the "stand your ground" law written by ALEC let the murderer of Trayvon Martin go free.
ALEC has also made it's corporate members such as Walmart, very rich. On paper, Walmart as a corporation is no longer a member of ALEC, however, the Walmart family is still one of ALEC's supporters and donors. Of course they support, Walmart is the number one supplier of guns, and ALEC is good for their business.
One of my favorite quotes comes from a man who has earned respect beyond measure:
“Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.” ~Bryan Stevenson, Just Mercy: A story of Justice and Redemption~
If you have not seen Just Mercy, put it on your “must see” list. This true story will bring up that lump up in your throat, send tears streaming down your face, and strip your emotional being to it's core. This movie is a breaking point. Why are white convicts who have mental illness sent to mental wards, but black convicts treated as if mental illness is a crime? Why do white words matter, but black lives don't? While watching this movie, a quote by Henry David Thoreau also flashed before me, ‘Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also a prison.”
Emerson once said, “I don’t take life seriously, I take serious moments in life seriously.” I can’t think of a more serious moment than this exact moment. Not only am I serious, but determined. I am determined to stand against racism, for justice, and with my black brothers and sisters because their lives matter.
Beyond being serious and determined, I am in action. Doing something with my white privilege is the least I can contribute. I will never understand, but am learning as much as I can so that I can help change this trajectory. I am taking a stand, and I’m not being quiet about it, I will never be silenced.