I participated in a peaceful protest for the Black Lives Matter movement today. If that upsets you, I hope you listen to what I have to say.
I have never participated in a protest before. I wasn’t able to find anyone to go with me today, so I went alone. I was nervous. I was uncomfortable. But I showed up, and I listened. I listened to black speakers share their perspectives and experience through poetry. I heard pain, frustration, anger, resilience, and hope in their voices. I felt a unity among the organizers, the protestors, volunteers, and the police force present. The city of Monterey showed support for the protest by blocking off sections of downtown from traffic and made plenty of free parking available for the protesters. The protest organizers communicated their peaceful intentions, volunteers manned first aid stations and distributed snacks, and passed out masks to anyone who needed one. Police officers were smiling and handing out water. There was no violence, no looting, no tear gas.
I struggled for a long time trying to decide what my protest sign should say. I didn’t want to be purposefully inflammatory, and I didn’t want to speak something that wasn’t my place to say as a privileged white man. So I decided to say, “I hear you.” After participating in the protest today, I feel like that’s what so many black Americans are needing right now: for us to say, “I hear you, I value you, I stand with you. You matter.”
I’ve seen many people using the terms “rioters” and “protesters” synonymously and they could not be more different. Learn the difference and also do a little research into the history of protesting. It’s a good thing. It’s an American thing. It’s a freedom we can and should exercise.I did not participate in this protest solely for justice for the murder of George Floyd. However, his death got my attention (connected to the string of similar tragedies that have repeatedly been happening in our country), and I decided to do some research. I have been reading about black history, learning about historical heroes I’d never heard of, and of atrocities done to black Americans by white Americans. I have barely scratched the surface, and it has been eye-opening and heart-wrenching.
I’ve heard, “The officers in the video have been arrested, what more do you want?” These protests are not just about George Floyd. They are protesting a pattern of police brutality and active history of systemic racism in this country. If we sit in our comfortable complacency as white people, nothing will change, and there will continue to be more victims.
I believe most people either supporting or condemning BLM and these protests are people with good intentions. We all want to do what is right. If the people pushing back, denying that systemic racism is still alive and well in this country, only took the time to listen to the voices of the oppressed, they would have a change of heart. Ignorance is preventing change and preventing good people from making a difference. I don’t say the word ignorance in an inflammatory way, but to say there is so much we as white people don’t know and don’t understand. Let’s quit talking over everyone and LISTEN. Not listen to other voices like ours, other voices speak with the same experience and shared biases, but listen to people who are very different from you. If you were aware of a FRACTION of the enormous scale of the atrocities that have been committed against and continue to hinder, harm, and kill POC today, you’d be moved. Our willful ignorance, silence, and inaction make us complicit, so we bear responsibility for continuing the cycle of oppression.
I’ve heard it said that the issues in our country are “heart issues” or a “sin problem.” This broadens and generalizes the very real specific problems regarding systemic racism and shifts the focus to make the discussion less uncomfortable. You wouldn’t say to someone with a cancerous tumor in their lung, “Yeah, you have a health problem. I hope it gets better.” No, you take x-rays of the lungs, run blood tests, schedule surgery, radiation, and chemo to address the very real, specific problem in the person’s lung. Yes, America has a problem, and the diagnosis is systemic racism.
There is such a culture of division in our country right now. We are locked in a vicious battle of politics where no one wins, and everyone pays the price. People treat politics like sports. You have your team, and you are in constant competition with the other team. Everyone wearing your team colors is good, and everyone else is evil and the enemy. There’s this ever-widening gap between conservative and liberals, between Democrats and Republicans. Most people on both sides are good people who want to do what’s right. We need to focus on the ways we’re similar. Its time we disrupt the cycle of endless fighting. All Americans are losing, and our country is suffering. Let’s quit trying to make those who disagree with us feel inferior. We all have lots to learn from each other and so much to gain from unity. Both sides are right and wrong. It’s both sides’ responsibility to fix our broken country. Human rights and equal justice should not be a partisan issue. Let’s examine our hearts and question our worldviews and biases. Let’s err on the side of love and compassion instead of being right or “winning.”
My peaceful protest and voicing my thoughts may trigger you to call me naive, liberal, or brainwashed by the “Left” media. That’s fine. But please read some books and articles written by black Americans and about black Americans and then have open discussions with actual POC with an open mind and LISTEN to their experience and what they have to say.
If you say I don’t see color – that may be true, or you may be in denial about your biases, but that isn’t what our black friends are saying they need from us. They want us to SEE their color, acknowledge the pain they are experiencing, and be moved to act in ways to help equalize the balance of society.
People have been saying that protesters don’t care about the COVID-19 virus. I care, but I felt that the desperate racial divide and continual slaughter of Americans as a result of a pattern of police brutality warranted a little risk on my part. I didn’t ignore COVID or think it was a hoax. My mom is sick with the virus right now. I have followed the guidelines outlined by my state in response to the pandemic. Still, I decided that this issue was more important than ensuring the maximum level of my safety.
I was uncomfortable today. I felt like an imposter as I chanted, “No justice, no peace! No racist police!” alongside POC. Well, I spoke softly underneath my mask while they chanted with conviction because my primary purpose was to listen and show my support. This protest was a small step in me, making myself more open to action in the future. I want to be an example for my son and help make the world a better place for him.The perfect time to start caring and working for change is today. When we hear someone speaking about injustice from a place of pain, instead of explaining why they’re wrong or trying to prove a point, let’s listen and say, “I hear you.”
Beau Jackson is a watercolor artist and stay-at-home-dad to his 2 year old son. He grew up in Kodiak, AK and has lived in Monterey for 3 years.
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