Vandalism is an Act of Powerlessness; Love Unites - Strength in Unity
A statue of the great abolitionist Frederick Douglass was torn from its base in Rochester, New York on Sunday, 168 years to the day since the city was the setting for one of his greatest speeches, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July? - The Guardian, Frederick Douglass statue torn down on anniversary of great speech
Does that mean white supremacy culture is feeling less superior? It won’t be tomorrow. It won’t be obliterated next year, and it won’t be reversed in a decade. But, for the first time during my existence on this planet (1980-) and in this country, things are shaking up in a good way. Local governments are “listening,” and my children, ages 12 & 14, have culturally evolved exponentially over the past two months (the internet, people. I take very little credit here) and I am whoa-fully behind them; trying to catch up.
2020 has been a bitch of a year, but we took a steak knife to a rotten, festering abscess and reamed that tender swollen carbuncle open- and now it’s draining. Now, every sort of shit is coming out of that sucker. It’s the type of infection that requires the veterinarian to get creative and utilize various clinical objects, like tubes (e.g. my beloved cat Sammy RIP) to brace it open and prevent it from healing or sealing itself shut before all the goop is flushed out. I’m sorry, were you eating? Just imagine an eclair instead 🙊Too late? Sorry.
So here we are. Shit is amok. Revolutions were never pretty; they never will be. What comes afterwards... will it justify the means? There’s- ‘yes,’ and then there’s- ‘depends on the means.’
I myself believe in passive protesting. Hold the eye-rolls & hear me out. No violence or violent destruction, terrorism, or using fear tactics. Those are the tools of evil (insert clip of Grandpa Simpson saying- “Eeeeviiiiillll”). Those are the tools of oppression. And I don’t believe they belong on the side of a righteous cause. Violence, terrorism, fear, are also the tools of the fearful... and if you are on the side of righteousness- no fear, dude.
If my use of the word ‘righteousness’ is causing you to read my text in a holy-roller evangelist voice- no. I haven’t been to church since I was a kid, and I’m not even going to go there right now, so just- no.
Unions. Churches. Organizations. The Three Musketeers. The Black Panthers. Robinhood and His Merry Men. United Nations. The Rebel Alliance. They all have one thing in common- Coming together. Uniting. There’s strength in numbers. I believe strength in numbers, coming together, can also preclude the notion to hurt people- that includes destroying people’s things (because we are the makers of the things… and the “dreamers of dreams”- off topic- ).
Not to cause destruction, rather, to support each other. To oppose injustice together; protest together; boycott together; mutiny together; quit together; resist together; hold-out together; negotiate together- and each in our own individual way. That is freedom. And then- be there for each other when they put the screws on us.
I’m talking about protesting. I’m not casting a wide net here. Brutality is alive and well, and people need protection in many different ways. This is just me, writing something on my blog; not really sure why, maybe it’s because I have a lot more time on my hands at the moment. Getting soap-boxy because I have an annoying habit of doing that. I haven’t been in your shoes, I’ve only been in mine. I don’t believe I have all the answers, I only have my thoughts and opinions; formed from my own experiences and perceptions, and I’m putting them out there. I cannot change that fact this exact moment as I click ‘post.’ I can only share it with you. You can share yours with me, even if you feel the need to put me on blast. This whole sharing experiences, thoughts, ideas and opinions is, to a large extent, how I evolve my own.
It’s premature right now, but, for the first time in my life I feel like there’s hope for uniting for peace- or firm declarations in that direction. The human race’s history reveals our pattern of learning EVERYTHING the hard way. The hard, ugly-hard, so-hard-terrible-way. Watch toddlers; their troubleshooting-hands-on approach to learning about being alive is almost analogue to the grownup’s world- shifting global culture, politics and events.
