Category: injustice

Essay on Protest

What exactly is protest? As a noun, it is defined as ‘an expression or declaration of objection, disapproval, or dissent, often in opposition to something a person is powerless to prevent or avoid’. When used as a verb it can be ‘an earnest declaration or to make a remonstrance to or object to’. Protest against unfair treatment has long been the history of people wanting to get fair treatment in the midst of those in authority. I can think of one very large protest against authority which is celebrated today, the wryly labeled ‘Boston Tea Party’. This party of a protest was perpetrated by a group of men poorly disguised as the hated minority of the time, probably to take the heat off themselves, in order to protest the ruling authorities levy of taxes on imports. Plenty of people living at this time, were very disparaging of the protesters actions. But, 300 years later, history writers have sanitized this large protest, which was rowdy and took hours to complete, into a party of men righteously standing up to the abusive authority, for the good of all.

Does that sound familiar? It might, almost 60 years ago, the hated minority of the time were speaking up, taking a stand, halting work, public transportation, school, and homes in their bid to get a fair chance at living their best lives without being indiscriminately murdered. The ruling authority was both vociferously and quietly opposed at every turn. Spending public resources to impede, belittle, and harm those protesting the status quo. Polls taken during this time showed the majority of Americans felt the protests were unhelpful, disruptive, and unnecessary. People died, businesses and communities were decimated, and only after the famous face was murdered did anyone in authority push efforts to rectify the disparity prevalent in America. You know how we view this protest today? The ruling authority has co-opted this protest into a ‘we all worked together for what was right, those leading these protests were beloved and peaceable, and any protest not like this one, is terrible and detrimental to the greater good’.

Maybe none of those examples hits home for you. Let me talk about the resounding protest being waged against the ruling authority today. Now, many of the same minority populations of our past, continue to be harassed and denied and murdered indiscriminately. Like all civilizations, America has grown through the labor of all who come here. Both those brought here by force and those who come here by choice. This country has a long history of poor practices where those outside the established rule are concerned. Today, the marginalized populations are many and the ruling authority feels more threatened than ever before. Protests are never embraced by those it may negatively impact, no matter how just the goal. Today, people who may be negatively impacted spend an enormous amount of time loudly disclaiming wrongdoing and cleverly changing the narrative of protesters in order to silence and belittle them. We spend all our time defending ourselves, taking sides on issues that have nothing to do with the protest and telling those minority populations how they should tell their stories or that their stories or false. My story has nothing to do with the settlers who arrived on the Mayflower and I don’t look to tell that story, nor can I deny that story exists, in good conscience.

Protesting is akin to collective constructive criticism. They are meant to convey that something could be done better. Protests come when we cease to listen to the negatively impacted, when we dismiss their concerns because it doesn’t align with our experience, when we don’t give the courtesy we give ourselves. When in protest, you are saying I insist on being heard and seen. I have come to you dressed in my best for the appointment, with my meticulously researched and constructed ideas, so that we can brainstorm and implement solutions. You have said NO! Over and over again, you yell NO! I must be heard, I am fighting for my life, the lives of my loved ones, therefore I will make it extremely difficult to ignore me and thereby you can no longer ignore the problem. No one likes to admit to being wrong. It is hard to stand up to those who hold your livelihood in a stranglehold of oppression. Oppression is only the prolonged, unjust treatment or control of another. To be unjust is to not be right. This doesn’t have to be limited to one part of history. Oppression is systematic and pervasive and anytime you hold sway over someone, you have the ability to oppress them. The reach of the protester is vastly larger today than in the past. It is harder to hide and conversely easier to be mislead and ignorant of opposing views which may have merit, but are different from yours. Protests speak out because they want you to know that not everything is great for everyone, they are screaming out, “I have validity!” Difference of opinion does not equal hate. Changing the narrative of protest to hate is an easy way to oppress. A majority will only see the hate narrative, never know the protest narrative and then are unwittingly oppressive.

We need to spend more time finding and listening to the protestors narrative in order to make informed decisions on whether or not we agree, can change ourselves, or help change others. Those heard and seen by many are uniquely able to disseminate stories in a bid to bring productive change. Their actions and words are far-reaching and impactful. Let their impact be presented not changed.  Dismissing the voice crying out in defense of the marginalized will not bring you peace.

I wish you peace.

Thoughts 2 Weeks Later

After approximately two and a half weeks with the 45th President of the U.S.A. I am seriously at a loss for the right words to convey the utter confusion and exasperation I feel almost daily. When people voiced their exasperation with the loss of livelihoods during the 44th Presidential term, I listened and understood their concerns. What I didn’t really get was how the practises of the Republican nominee could be overlooked because of his vociferous voice for change based on the marginalization of seemingly every group of people who were not of white, European descent. I mean, really. You want me to overlook a person’s own words, which have not changed in content at all, when many can not look past the words, actions, mistakes of people different from them the world over. Many view the actions, words, and mistakes of people different from them to be all that defines them, that there is no change of heart or personality no matter what happens in that person’s life later. People of color are painted with a broad brush colored by any past misdeeds and placed before the world as a strategic problem of their ethnic origins or country of origin. White people of European descent on the other hand are often portrayed as acting alone, mentally ill, and hardly ever branded as terrorists. In America today, we seem to be showing the world that it takes large amounts of money to a targeted group, agreement that anything that uplifts others is to be suspect, and voices of difference are to be mocked and discredited at all costs, to be the standard bearer. People have long been leery of difference, strangers, and anything that questions the status quo, but the only real change comes from these things. It was true in the 1700’s and it is still true today. If the white founding fathers of this young country hadn’t been adventurous strangers who questioned the rule of the day, there would be no U.S.A. As a woman of color I have been looking into the face of discrimination and fear of change for all my life, yet most of that time it was well hidden behind seemingly courteous people who would never dream that they were in anyway oppressors of others. We have all been biased towards people and places for a myriad  of reasons, yet today we are divided in ways I can’t recall since the Black Civil Rights Era or even the contentious American Civil War. People of color are often told to forget their roots, change their dress, language, mannerisms, all in an effort to be excepted in this country. Everyone else must acclimate but white Americans have the privilege of keeping your ancestral roots, language, and customs intact. You are even held in awe when you do so and devote festivals and days to this very thing. What we are telling these people of color now is none of that matters. No matter what you do, sacrifice, or learn to be in this country, we (white America) will not accept you. I have white friends who are sickened by this idea and its blatant visualization in America today. They have always been sickened by this and were often vocal about abuses of power and injustice. Yet many others are just awaking to a world that puts their own in jeopardy which they find unacceptable. These would also be the places here injustice that doesn’t personally touch them is viewed as suspect and not their problem. (This is another post itself) But, my friends of color are not surprised at all. We have been fighting this same fight to be seen on equal footing for hundreds of years and no matter how many apologies, reparations, or laws passed, what never changes is the learned perception of them versus us on the color spectrum. Unless we teach and show equality along with the systematic dismantling of the very system set up to run this country in a way that applauds and rewards a person’s white(ness) and connections, there will always be oppression, hate, and fear running rampant. Am I happy that many people seem to have awaken from a coma to question the power and reach of the 45th President? Sure I am, more people armed with knowledge usually leads to productive change for all. Am I sometimes disillusioned that it took something so drastic to make others take notice? Yes. Do I pray that these times bring a lasting change for the better? Constantly. I also work locally, speak in my small platform, educate whenever I can and seek knowldege so that I am doing my part to be an agent of change, not just a voice crying in the night about injustice that I won’t lift a finger to help eradicate. Why don’t you join me?