Keep Your Enemies Closer?
So, I am sitting here in tears and I don't know how to deal with my flood of emotions other than to write. I don't know if any of it will make sense, but I have to get it out. I have been thinking a lot about Nelson Mandela, apartheid, leadership, and how to make this world a better place. Mandela said "If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner."
I have been trying to make sense of this. I feel incredibly fortunate to have known someone who lived through apartheid as a child in Pretoria, South Africa. When I was a camp counselor in college, we had multiple coworkers from a variety of countries around the world. Hoops made a massive impact on me as a 20-something white chick from the suburbs. Her unique perspective about growing up in a place where diversity was not accepted and she had to move from place to place in secret with her Mom opened my eyes to how much hate can hurt. Even though it had been many years since she'd experienced this, it was still fresh in her mind. The fact that she was brave enough to share her story in a room filled with mostly white women was absolutely inspiring and my friendship with her is one that I will always treasure. I was amazed to learn that she spoke 5 different languages and I loved hearing her stories about her home country. I hate that she ever had to live in a time where she was judged solely by the color of her skin and not the depth of her character. She loved basketball and hoped to come to America for college. I lost touch with her after a couple of years and would love to reconnect, but our current situation in America has made me think of her a lot this week.
I suppose I would be considered a member of what Trump called the "alt-left" today since I do support the black lives matter movement and I do denounce anything associated with nazis or taking away anyone else's freedom without just cause (i.e. you've murdered someone). My hope is that rather than simply judging me based on my decision to be a democrat vs a republican or a liberal vs a conservative, you would be open to having a conversation about WHY I feel this way.
I support black lives matter as a movement because I see the disparity in the way that minorities (including hispanics, blacks, jews, muslims...I could go on) are treated in our country. I support any population's right to request equal treatment by our government and law-enforcement. The BLM movement has NEVER said that black people are superior to others and that others deserve to die. They do not want to take over eradicate others based on race, religion, gender, etc. Their goal is equality, so us white folks who stand by them support and encourage their efforts to create justice for all. Do I support riots and fires and violence? Of course not; however, I have to question where the police were in the situation in Charlottesville, VA this weekend. There were police in riot gear at many of the protests in Ferguson, Baltimore, etc, but I didn't see any of that at the rally in Charlottesville. This makes me question our system. Why is it that black "rallies" (protests, assemblies, whatever you want to call it) are somehow more dangerous or in need of law-enforcement than white rallies? THIS is one of the many situations that make "us liberals" question our country's ideals. I can't, for the life of me, understand why people on the "other side" can't see it this way. Why can't you sit down and have a civil conversation with a person that has had a different path in life than you have? Have you gone to the Holocaust museum or the African American History museum? Have you sought first to understand before judging? I am not seeing much of that happening these days and that is breaking my heart.
It makes me sick to my stomach that we currently have a leader that is not inspiring people to become better versions of themselves, but is instead choosing to focus on scapegoating and placing blame. Where is the compassion, the empathy, the basic human decency in our government? I'm not seeing it in many places right now and that is terrifying. If we can't attempt to work as a team and try to understand our differences politically, religiously, ethnically, etc. then I don't know how we are going to get any better.
All I know is that when my students walk into my classroom on September 5th, I want them to know that no matter where they come from, I will be there seeking to understand who they are, where they come from and hopefully inspire them to be better versions of themselves. I know in my heart that's where I can make a difference. Even if my TV and my twitter feed and my facebook page are full of derision and hatred, I CAN control my home and my classroom. That is what I need to focus on and I hope that if you choose to make a difference in your part of the world you can do it one step at a time as well. I will leave you with one more quote: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” -Nelson Mandela
I have been trying to make sense of this. I feel incredibly fortunate to have known someone who lived through apartheid as a child in Pretoria, South Africa. When I was a camp counselor in college, we had multiple coworkers from a variety of countries around the world. Hoops made a massive impact on me as a 20-something white chick from the suburbs. Her unique perspective about growing up in a place where diversity was not accepted and she had to move from place to place in secret with her Mom opened my eyes to how much hate can hurt. Even though it had been many years since she'd experienced this, it was still fresh in her mind. The fact that she was brave enough to share her story in a room filled with mostly white women was absolutely inspiring and my friendship with her is one that I will always treasure. I was amazed to learn that she spoke 5 different languages and I loved hearing her stories about her home country. I hate that she ever had to live in a time where she was judged solely by the color of her skin and not the depth of her character. She loved basketball and hoped to come to America for college. I lost touch with her after a couple of years and would love to reconnect, but our current situation in America has made me think of her a lot this week.
I suppose I would be considered a member of what Trump called the "alt-left" today since I do support the black lives matter movement and I do denounce anything associated with nazis or taking away anyone else's freedom without just cause (i.e. you've murdered someone). My hope is that rather than simply judging me based on my decision to be a democrat vs a republican or a liberal vs a conservative, you would be open to having a conversation about WHY I feel this way.
I support black lives matter as a movement because I see the disparity in the way that minorities (including hispanics, blacks, jews, muslims...I could go on) are treated in our country. I support any population's right to request equal treatment by our government and law-enforcement. The BLM movement has NEVER said that black people are superior to others and that others deserve to die. They do not want to take over eradicate others based on race, religion, gender, etc. Their goal is equality, so us white folks who stand by them support and encourage their efforts to create justice for all. Do I support riots and fires and violence? Of course not; however, I have to question where the police were in the situation in Charlottesville, VA this weekend. There were police in riot gear at many of the protests in Ferguson, Baltimore, etc, but I didn't see any of that at the rally in Charlottesville. This makes me question our system. Why is it that black "rallies" (protests, assemblies, whatever you want to call it) are somehow more dangerous or in need of law-enforcement than white rallies? THIS is one of the many situations that make "us liberals" question our country's ideals. I can't, for the life of me, understand why people on the "other side" can't see it this way. Why can't you sit down and have a civil conversation with a person that has had a different path in life than you have? Have you gone to the Holocaust museum or the African American History museum? Have you sought first to understand before judging? I am not seeing much of that happening these days and that is breaking my heart.
It makes me sick to my stomach that we currently have a leader that is not inspiring people to become better versions of themselves, but is instead choosing to focus on scapegoating and placing blame. Where is the compassion, the empathy, the basic human decency in our government? I'm not seeing it in many places right now and that is terrifying. If we can't attempt to work as a team and try to understand our differences politically, religiously, ethnically, etc. then I don't know how we are going to get any better.
All I know is that when my students walk into my classroom on September 5th, I want them to know that no matter where they come from, I will be there seeking to understand who they are, where they come from and hopefully inspire them to be better versions of themselves. I know in my heart that's where I can make a difference. Even if my TV and my twitter feed and my facebook page are full of derision and hatred, I CAN control my home and my classroom. That is what I need to focus on and I hope that if you choose to make a difference in your part of the world you can do it one step at a time as well. I will leave you with one more quote: “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to this struggle of the African people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” -Nelson Mandela
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