Standing in Solidarity
Christina
For quite some time, I’ve been enveloped in normality and insulated from prejudice, and as a direct result, I’ve become quite subdued and honestly, ignorant of the realities that exist beyond my immediate bubble. I am ashamed to say that the sharp edge of injustice has been whittled away until all that’s left is its dull residue, and I have become the exact person that Martin Luther King Jr. criticized: the one who demonstrates complacency and a “lukewarm acceptance.”
Yet injustice should be well-defined. After all, there’s a fine line between right and wrong. So the fact that I have been able to rationalize the violence and injustice occurring in the world as unfair yet irrelevant towards me, an Asian American who is usually non-partisan and soft-spoken when it comes to inflammatory matters, is unfathomable.
In light of the resurgence in the prominent #blacklivesmatter movement, I’ve had the opportunity to re-evaluate my position. And perhaps, I am not black or white, but I am an American, a product of immigration, and an adamant opposer of mindless homogeny.
If we truly wanted a homogenous society, one free of racial diversity, America would not be the place for us. And at our current rate, it seems that we are barreling down the path towards an irrevocable chasm, one instigated by a disconcerting incongruity between the words “all men are created equal” and our violent actions, targeted at both racial minorities and the honest-working police officers and local businesses deemed collateral damage from the riots.
Together, let’s put an end towards this blatant regression towards savagery and transgression of basic human rights. Let’s recalibrate our efforts away from relegating an entire segment of the population to an inferior status. So today, tomorrow, and for the rest of eternity, let’s stand in solidarity in the face of this issue: one that spans centuries and requires a conversation that goes beyond both you and me.
“Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” Martin Luther King Jr. in Letter from a Birmingham Jail
For quite some time, I’ve been enveloped in normality and insulated from prejudice, and as a direct result, I’ve become quite subdued and honestly, ignorant of the realities that exist beyond my immediate bubble. I am ashamed to say that the sharp edge of injustice has been whittled away until all that’s left is its dull residue, and I have become the exact person that Martin Luther King Jr. criticized: the one who demonstrates complacency and a “lukewarm acceptance.”
Yet injustice should be well-defined. After all, there’s a fine line between right and wrong. So the fact that I have been able to rationalize the violence and injustice occurring in the world as unfair yet irrelevant towards me, an Asian American who is usually non-partisan and soft-spoken when it comes to inflammatory matters, is unfathomable.
In light of the resurgence in the prominent #blacklivesmatter movement, I’ve had the opportunity to re-evaluate my position. And perhaps, I am not black or white, but I am an American, a product of immigration, and an adamant opposer of mindless homogeny.
If we truly wanted a homogenous society, one free of racial diversity, America would not be the place for us. And at our current rate, it seems that we are barreling down the path towards an irrevocable chasm, one instigated by a disconcerting incongruity between the words “all men are created equal” and our violent actions, targeted at both racial minorities and the honest-working police officers and local businesses deemed collateral damage from the riots.
Together, let’s put an end towards this blatant regression towards savagery and transgression of basic human rights. Let’s recalibrate our efforts away from relegating an entire segment of the population to an inferior status. So today, tomorrow, and for the rest of eternity, let’s stand in solidarity in the face of this issue: one that spans centuries and requires a conversation that goes beyond both you and me.
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