#thisismystand

“There is no perfect time to get involved in social causes, no ideal circumstances for voicing our concerns. Instead, each of us faces a lifelong series of imperfect moments in which we must decide what to stand for.”[1] Paul Loeb hit the nail on the head with this one. Recently a string of these imperfect moments have invaded the public’s attention within the United States. It began with the murder of Trayvon Martin in early 2012 by a neighborhood watch volunteer in the community of his father’s fiancé. The conversation about racism continued when in mid/late 2014 Michael Brown was shot and killed by a local police officer[2]. Then in late 2014 the police officer who killed Eric Garner was not indicted by a grand jury.[3]

                These events are imperfect moments where our society had to decide to act. For some it was impossible to ignore the outright discrimination and violence focused so narrowly on one racial group. For those who were faced with this discrimination, for those living in the areas where these (and many, many more similar events) have occurred, and for those who had personal connections with these events it was impossible to ignore. A stand had to be taken: they could come together and fight these injustices or they could choose silence with which they choose the side of the oppressor. For others, however, it would be very easy to stay clear of the debate, to avoid the fuss of it all. Those of us who live far enough away from the riots and marches, those of us whose skin doesn’t so closely resemble the skin of those slain for wearing it, and those of us who are fearful for speaking up for fear of social exclusion can ignore these social injustices far too easily. Far too easily do we give in to our learned helplessness and leave these injustices to those who can’t ignore it.[4]

                It has been far too easy for me to give into this learned helplessness. I spend more time that I care to admit scrolling through social media newsfeeds and dashboards when I should be doing more important tasks. There have been numerous times when something socially important has cropped up that I didn’t give a second glance and scrolled past. These things don’t affect my daily activities unless I want them too. And why would I want them too? They’re often ugly and complex and difficult to process. These sorts of events, these series of imperfect moments define the society I live in. It is not a want, but a NEED to have these events affecting my daily activities. If each and every one of us cannot take a stand and fight for the rights of each and every one of us then we won’t last long as a species. Even if we survive in physical form we won’t survive in the meaningful and connected way that makes us human beings. The color of our skin (and so many surface features and identifiers) does not define us as human beings. We are made of the same elements. We come from the same past and we share a future. What future are we spending our time creating?

    [1] Paul Rogat Loeb, “Soul of a citizen,” in Global Warming: Changing Course. (Portland: Northwest Earth Institute, 2008.) 68.

  [2] Sally Kohn. “First Mike Brown, Then Eric Garner: Prosecutors can’t be trusted to try cops,” The Daily Beast. December 3, 2014. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/12/03/the-eric-garner-case-should-have-gone-to-trial.html

  [3] Melanie Eversley & Mike James. “No charges in NYC chokehold death; federal inquiry launched,” USA Today: A Gannett Company. December 4, 2014. http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2014/12/03/chokehold-grand-jury/19804577/

  [4] Loeb. “Soul of a citizen.” 67.