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Ma no longer prides my speaking of the American English I suppose it reminds her of my many years of absence from home, her memories that cannot be relinquished.

Ma used to urge me to practice English, “It is o k if math and science not your best,” English holds the key to all doors of opportunity So pay attention to your teacher and listen very closely as learning is a child’s only duty.

Now, Ma only wants me to converse with her in Chinese Sometimes she would even, passive aggressively toss me a newspaper and have me narrate a random story And honestly, every year that passes by is another few hundred words of unfamiliarity.

But I haven’t forgotten it all, such as the Three Character Classic where you spent days and nights having me recite Every couplet to be deeply engrained in my mind That I was Mencius, and filial piety was as imperative as my studies, but never more than his ma – you.

Ma, I understand your frustration I see that it’s not just the intonation and stress patterns Every stroke I write, you see as a lack of depth and reflection Every word I speak, you hear as a cry for attention Every book I read, you say is missing character expansion

But let’s not stop the conversation Despite the altercations I’m glad there’s a confrontation If there’s one thing I’ve gained from my English acquisition, it’s twenty-six extra letters to the freedom of expression.

I see the same people mobilizing, and the same people standing still. Let’s get it straight.

I understand that for some, social media is exclusively a tool for drawing attention, and it can be hard to imagine why people would “push in your face” ethical issues, especially on Facebook. Two years ago I even told myself I would stop talking about those things, and that I would certainly stop bringing those discussions online. I hated the flack I would get for bringing these things up.

At the moment, we seem to live in a golden age secured by the patriots we read about in elementary school textbooks, like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Ronald Reagan and the writers of Zero Dark Thirty (that second one was a joke) (that third one was, too). It’s especially clear that we think marshaling against racist sentiments is now unnecessary.

How does this play out? When it comes to racism against blacks, if you’re black, you’re first asked to not over-react, then you are compared with a black person who has gone on record saying that racism is not a problem. If you’re not black, you’re asked why you care at all. Above all, you are asked to have dignity—to stop protesting racism, to be decent and silent. I’m reminded of my father: a man who has seen much racism in the work place, but firmly believes that he should be submissive to it, because everyone likes a hard worker who is passive and obedient and doesn’t “make a big deal” out of anything, even if it is big. “Dignity,” they call that.

So why bother speaking up? To preach to the choir? To get likes and up votes? To get attention? To feel like your life matters? To have an interesting new cause, which will shortly be followed by advocating for the rights of third-world non-GMO lightly-bruised avocados?  

The reason why you or I or anyone should speak up is because putting a face to a statement adds a measurable influence on every person within a network. In this, who you are and the stance you take has tremendous power (I’m looking at you, people who feel like your help won’t matter or isn’t wanted). Every time I see someone write in support of black students at Mizzou, that is one more person—a person I know—who is expressing a belief. Every time that happens, more people realize how widespread that sentiment is.

Most importantly, more people who disagree with that sentiment are brought closer and closer and closer to it.

There is an impact to this. Right now we are experiencing hate crimes against African Americans that never really declined, only lost visibility. Now, they are somewhat more visible and certainly on the rise. If ever there was a time when we would be asked to act, by anyone—especially civil rights activists from decades ago—it would be now. In their time, they must have been dismissed; “slavery is over; it’s all good now.” In our time, they’d be told “segregation is over, it’s all good now.” Told to forget the rampant structural oppression and violence that continues. But we can’t. This is the real world. This is actually happening today.

Please understand that I have no reason to lie to you when I say that most of America is not like the cute, insular, affluent mostly-white suburbs where I would often crash house parties throughout my teenage years. In America, in any America where black-people exist today, very dangerous realities are being faced. Really, you should be concerned by all the inequalities your friends of color face, be that racial slurs or job application bias. But if nothing else, violence hits home quite quickly and quite seriously.

So, to be clear: 

I’m blowing up your Facebook feed and your real-life ears because it is a very real chance that one of my friends who is black will see significant harm one of these days, if they haven’t already. I’m saying something because someone important to me, someone I go to school with, could be abused, and (though I pray not) possibly even assaulted or killed for the color of their skin, today. This is not exaggeration or oversensitivity, this is statistics and lived experience.

For this reason, I am obligated to offer at least a statement when a group of people are marginalized. This goes beyond race and the discriminations I personally experience: as a man, I seriously implore my male friends to stop remaining silent when women are asking for support of their rights and political agendas. As a heterosexual, I seriously implore my heterosexual friends to stop letting homophobic comments or statements slide by without challenge (whenever possible and safe to do so). The list goes on.

As far as race goes, we are at a turning point. A social election is playing out right now, and it will take place whether you vote one way, the other way, or whether you don’t vote at all. And that’s the part it seems like people aren’t understanding: there is no TRUE abstention. Every choice, including silence, has an impact.

If you speak up, it will have an impact.

If you don’t speak up, whether it be because you feel silly, you feel it’s already been said, you feel it won’t help, you feel embarrassed, you feel it doesn’t matter, you feel it’s “not your issue,” you fear judgment from friends/family, you fear you’ll be thought of as making a “big deal” out of nothing, you fear you’ll be labeled as a SJW—

so far as you can reasonably and safely speak up, and yet choose not to, it will have an impact. If that sounds like a lot of pressure, that’s because it is.

Ma no longer prides my speaking of the American English I suppose it reminds her of my many years of absence from home, her memories that cannot be relinquished.

Ma used to urge me to practice English, “It is o k if math and science not your best,” English holds the key to all doors of opportunity So pay attention to your teacher and listen very closely as learning is a child’s only duty.

Now, Ma only wants me to converse with her in Chinese Sometimes she would even, passive aggressively toss me a newspaper and have me narrate a random story And honestly, every year that passes by is another few hundred words of unfamiliarity.

But I haven’t forgotten it all, such as the Three Character Classic where you spent days and nights having me recite Every couplet to be deeply engrained in my mind That I was Mencius, and filial piety was as imperative as my studies, but never more than his ma – you.

Ma, I understand your frustration I see that it’s not just the intonation and stress patterns Every stroke I write, you see as a lack of depth and reflection Every word I speak, you hear as a cry for attention Every book I read, you say is missing character expansion

But let’s not stop the conversation Despite the altercations I’m glad there’s a confrontation If there’s one thing I’ve gained from my English acquisition, it’s twenty-six extra letters to the freedom of expression.