Root to RISE. Why we need ANGER to create change!
With a tremendous amount of trepidation I sit at my computer to write on the topic of racism and anger in our society. I am hesitant in that I am white, and thus by birth I am privileged. By BIRTH. I did nothing to earn this right…I just showed up. White. Yet, writing is my form expression and the way I work through feelings and emotions, and hope this post is received with this knowledge of what I am trying to do…. provide space and a voice for those who are in need for both in our world. I may stumble through this post. I recognize much of today’s story is not “my story” yet as part of the human race, it at the same time is my story. We are all part of the HUMAN RACE, and what happens to one of OUR people, hurts and affects us all.
My oldest son is 22. He is shy, sensitive, and passionate about equality in our world. He is educated. He is socially aware. He is also white and thus has privilege many in the world do not. He is outraged and currently in a space of “unknowing” where to direct that outrage…what to do? How to act? What can he do? To watch his processing, as a parent, there is a desire to say “calm down. It’s going to be ok. This will pass” but truly, it (a) won't just “pass” as racism has been in existence long before he, or I have been on this planet and (b) we all SHOULD be uncomfortable! Anger over what is happening is what is necessary to create change. If pleading or reasoning or silently sitting back and shaking one’s head or crying silently worked, not one more life would needlessly and heinously would be lost from this day forth. I want him to be uncomfortable. I want all of us to be uncomfortable.
Yet…we all know this is just a drop in the bucket of lives lost, lives destroyed, lives minimized, and lives marginalized in our struggles to live in harmony.
I shared in my last post, my own internal struggle with anger & frustration & grief unrelated to this incident. However, it has given me pause to consider the parallels in ways we process perceived injustices, heartaches, and atrocities in life. What I didn’t share is my tremendous difficultly allowing or encouraging myself to stay in this space . Of ANGER. Anger is not my natural state and therefore it’s SUPER uncomfortable. I struggle to allow myself to stay there, even though I inherently know it is necessary to bring about the change that I am needing in my own life. It is necessary…to move forward & elicit change. I need change. This weekend, this same process was amplified and illuminated for our world, our WORLD is in need of change.
As a privileged white person, I don’t deserve any space on this stage. But I want to help. I want to be an ally, I want to stand up instead of sitting on the sidelines as my fellow HUMANS are harassed, hurt, or even killed.I don’t want to screw up or overstep my role, and yet I don't want to sit aside and do NOTHING because this is uncomfortable.
“The Only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (or women) to do NOTHING.” Edmund Burke.
I have a million ideas, but recognize they are through the lens of a privileged white female. I sought out my friends who are not. Who have a right to sit at the table and actually make suggestions based on their lives, and I am practicing sitting back, listening, acknowledging my role in this continuation and humbly asking to help……
Do you want to help? Are you ANGRY and wanting to sit with that discomfort, allowing it to propel you to do SOMETHING?
Here are some suggestions I received from others (thanks Syd, especially….my dear sorority sister and friend…who is a badass runner girl and one of the most beautiful humans I’ve met in this lifetime…)
Our friends, our family members, our neighbors, our church members, our running friends, our community members CANNOT do this on their own. For real change to happen, we TOO need to get out of our privilege, out of our comfort zone and use our ANGER to root us, so we can RISE to see real change in our world.
Join me…. in listening more, showing up more, and trusting that all emotions are there for a reason, and ANGER is necessary if we want to see change in our world.
Love to hear your feedback…..
Wishing you Peace….In ALL of our journeys…..
