This is not an easy post to write and everything I say is where I am at right now and might change in the future.
The attack on and death of George Floyd in Minneapolis has rippled loudly to my side of the world. My Instagram has been ablaze with opinions and news. I am thankful for that.
I am first of all appalled at my own previous lack of involvement. I have in the past assumed that not being racist was enough for me; I now know that is wrong.
Silently disagreeing is not disagreeing at all. Silence is condoning and supporting systematic behaviours and attitudes of racism in our society and the only thing that actually is anti-racism is to pull up and voice the disagreement – with actions.
It is my responsibility to educate myself and to take action. I have said before that when it comes to issues like racisms, climate change, sexism, injustice, it is not enough to be aware of the issues. To be existentially true to our being, we must take action. What we believe is in our actions.
As I have shared on my stories, I am pledging to do more. It is not enough to be horrified by what’s happened. It is not enough to just share the news and then move on.
This is a very specific issue, but it is also a very existential issue. If I choose to remain silent, I am part of the herd of systematic racism/sexism/homophobia. The only way to step into my existential freedom is to speak up, learn and take action. It is my responsibility to myself and to others as human beings.
I feel like this is where I am at at the moment. It might not be entirely structured or coherent yet, but it’s a start.
My pledge to do more starts with reading Me and White Supremacy by Layla F Saad and to share what I learn with you.