Writing With Love?

Yesterday I posted something I’d worked on since hearing the news that the Governor of Georgia has signed more voter suppression into law.

Here’s what I posted for context.

“Why do some white people act so outrageously?
Is their arrogance and entitlement so deep they can’t see it?
What within the walls of their inner sanctum makes them believe,
they can do no wrong?
Are they only able to see the world in black or white?
Good or bad?
Acceptable or not acceptable?
Never an in-between.
No living color…
No brown or yellow or red
no gradients ever noticed.

For the white person I am, with all my conditioning…
A bucket full of assumptions and prejudices
Conscious and unconscious;
I welcome variations, the diversity,
the many hues of human skin.

I pity duality-minded individuals,
including me, who can not see,
The equality in the humanity
of each and every red blooded
being sharing space on this planet.

How I would love to gather
those who carry the beliefs of white supremacy
like some nonexistent royal robe of privilege
and wave a magic wand to give them true 20/20 vision.
Soften their hearts to generosity,
empathy,
equity.

It seems Government by the people doesn’t mean ALL the people.

They prefer government by white people,
rich people,
male people,
privileged, well-connected, like-minded people.
People with status…property owners,
people at the top of the heap (whatever that means)…
people who know the “right”, “white” people.

Obama scared the wits out of them…
fired them up to ignite fear and outrage…
making claims not-white people were coming
to take things away from them.
Lie to them over and over and over
so they believe those lies.
Social media weaponized.
Modern technology used to promote plantation era prejudices.
And Jim Crow strategy
Echoing religious language in order to convince
God fearing followers.
Rigid thinking pastors and priests
promote these policies from the pulpit.

Psychological warfare…
Guns proudly toted and swung about.
Intimidation masked as freedom.
Bullies calling themselves patriots.
To continue the systemic injustice.
Perpetrators of a silent violence
Designed to maintain supremacy
And dominance.

Why does this myth endure?
Penetrating to the core of both black and white?
When will we overcome the conditioning?
Centuries of mistreatment and abuse
In a country hawking liberty?”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — -

After posting, I listened to a podcast of Brene’ Brown interviewing Emmanual Acho…

He made the statement that he always writes with love which immediately jolted me into questioning myself. My immediate response was condemnation for pointing accusatory fingers with my words.

My shame led to an attempt to rewrite the piece with the third person plural. That wasn’t working. I deleted the post.

Then I took a pause. Isn’t what I wrote an act of love for those who are being shut out of democracy? Am I not standing up against injustice? Isn’t that more important?

There is no doubt in my mind, I suffer from the conditioning we are all the recipients of…a study of history is evidence to the scourge of “black/white”,
“either/or”, dualistic thinking that keeps us in this intense friction. Power, greed and fear are potent forces. Overcoming them is taking centuries.

I’m not going to apologize for speaking my truth.