Every now and again, I have a Facebook “friend” who, after being “quiet” about politics, decides to write a post in which they adorably try so hard to appear as unbiased in speaking about it. They even do the whole “I DON’T USUALLY TALK POLITICS” announcement at the beginning of it.
Nice try.
This is not to say that everyone is into politics and that this could not be true. Of course, especially with how ugly things have become, it’s understandable as to why some would rather not speak about it. Even those who otherwise would have been turned off in even trying to reason with people.
Or, you could be like me, and not having spoken about it at one time, but now has the need to do so.
Anyway, what I have noticed most often by those who writes posts like these are a few things. For one, it seems that when someone on the Republican side is at the receiving end of something not so pleasant; for example, the recent Covington Catholic School teens wearing MAGA hats and taunting the Native American veteran.
A few months ago, it was Republican lawmakers who were confronted while having out and having dinner.
As could be expected, any of these individuals on Facebook put his or her proverbial foot down by proclaiming how absolutely SICK they are of people being treated this way (meaning those on the Republican side). A few even added the laughable “YOU CAN UNFRIEND ME IF YOU SUPPORT THIS!” as if somehow that would make everyone change their minds.
Now, we have mass shootings happening on a regular basis by white males.
Silence.
White people are harassing people of color ON VIDEO.
Silence.
Kids being mass murdered in schools.
Aside from the asinine conspiracy theory here and there about how everything is “Fake News…” Silence.
The President of the United States telling blatant lies on a daily basis and committing crimes, at least between childish insults of everything he doesn’t agree with.
Silence.
But GOD FORBID someone speak up for themselves and it goes against someone on the Republican side or against Trump himself.
Yes, THAT’S the time to speak up and mention how “divided” everyone is.
But only then. Because clearly the country isn’t divided at all when Donald Trump holds press conference and rallies where 80% of it is blaming Democrats for something.
My theory is simply this. For many of those who come out and decide to do this, it is for no reason other than to “quietly” show support to Trump, Republicans, no matter what they are standing for.
When Democrats or POC are wrong, they are wrong.
When Republicans or Trump are wrong, then “both sides need to get it together.”
See how that works?
People are not stupid. Many support Trump because he is who they are. Period.
I am no longer entertaining the “Just because Trump…doesn’t mean that I…” statements. There is NO question as to who he is. If you can still treat him as a buffet in which you can pick all around the blatant racism, lies, misogyny and narcissism and STILL find reasons to support him, then something is seriously wrong with you anyway.
That would be like me supporting a man who beats on women, cheats on women, steals, lies, commits crimes, but I can overlook all that because he knows how to write in cursive.
That would be silly, right?
Well that’s what those in the Trump cult cling on to when they struggle to support everything else.
Again…there is nothing to say that there are people out there who are truly unbiased. So how come we don’t hear much from them when it comes to oppression or anything else against people of color?
That’s another thing…I’ve noticed that in just about every case, it isn’t a person of color who does this. It is a person speaking from a place of privilege.
Yep…there’s that word again.
White folks, before you come on here to remind of that one time somebody said something racist to you when you were in middle school, slow your roll. “Privilege” does not mean that you’ve never, ever experienced racism or something in which you’ve received the lesser treatment in relation to a black person in a particular instance. Relax. We all know it isn’t every white person in the world who was born with a silver spoon in his or her mouth. We get it.
What this means is that more often than not, for all the issues that you face throughout your lives in comparison to those of color, your race alone will affect you FAR less than it does us.
That isn’t up for debate, by the way.
When is the last time you were followed around in a store? Pulled over just because you were driving a nice car? Had the police called on you for reasons others would never have the police called on them? And even if any of these did happen, how often, in comparison to those of color?
Right. It’s not even close.
So of course, when those who have faced oppression speak up, it is MUCH easier to insist that they “shut up” or to make it a “both sides” issue, either because you are afraid of being the unpopular one to call out the side you exist on racially, or because you are ignorant of what the oppressed have to experience and it is much easier to just dismiss.
This is where we are in 2019. People believe that racism is not a problem anymore. We have a president who responds to White Nationalist rallies by not denouncing them, but by complimenting “both sides.” People of color IN America are harassed even to the point of death by white citizens and…nothing, as the same people are laughably paranoid about “invasions” and everything else coming from Mexico, all because the president says so.
There are many instances where it is really “both sides” who are at fault for whatever may be taking place.
What’s going on in America now, especially with Donald Trump at the center, to include the government shutdown, is not one of them.
If you believe otherwise, this is just to let you know that we’re well-aware of the truth.
That is all.
But don’t hold your breath on us being quiet.
Even if you promise to “not be our friends anymore.”
People's Court 