Think about this.
I just got a ride home from the gym from a 40-ish year old five foot tall white woman that I’ve never talked to before tonight.
She offered as she saw me leaving. I live literally across the street. Maybe a 5-10 minute walk.
I asked her why she wanted to give me a ride and she said “Because with what’s going on out there I don’t think it’s safe for you to walk alone in the dark.”
I’m a black male in my late 20s who is six feet 8 inches tall and is roughly 400 lbs. I’m a literal giant.
And she feared for my safety because of what she’s seen on the news all week.
Think about that shit.
I just want to say to the tumblr youth…
I’m proud of you. You are standing up for what you believe in. You aren’t letting injustices go unnoticed. You are making your voices heard. That takes a hell of a lot of courage and I am so proud of you all for that.
Don’t let yourselves be silenced. You are the ones who will change the world. Make it a better one.
I was working late last night with a couple black coworkers/friends. One of them half-joked that I should walk them to their car for safety, since if they got shot no one would care, but if someone shot a white woman, well….
I am not Mike Brown. I am white. I am middle class. I am female. I am small. I am not considered a threat. When police see me they see someone who looks like them. They see their mothers, their daughters, their sisters, themselves. I am not at risk of being shot by police for existing while black. I am not at risk of being shot while unarmed. I am not at risk of being shot while armed with nothing more than a BB gun. I am not at risk of being shot for reaching for my wallet. I am privileged.
But I am outraged. And if you aren’t outraged, then you aren’t paying attention. This is America in 2014. This is our reality. It’s so easy to get jaded and to ignore these atrocities, to act like this doesn’t affect us. It’s so easy to get apathetic. In the past it was the youth who protested. Where is the rage of the youth? Where is our rage?
Like I said, I am not Mike Brown. But I am outraged.
I wrote this the week after Mike Brown was shot. I naively thought that this case would be different. That Darren Wilson would be punished, at the very least fired or pressured to resign. I thought that public outcry would mean something. I have never been more angry. I have never been more outraged. I wish I could say I were surprised.
(via sailorspacecase)
if you aren’t outraged, then you aren’t paying attention
(via mysweetayngel)
