Day Eighty-Four

I don't know what's next. Like a lot of people, I've spent the past week or so listening and learning, repeatedly feeling horrified, sad, and angry about all of the things that I knew to be true, but clearly I didn't know the depths of the truth. I undoubtedly knew that racism was built into the core of who we are as a country, and I knew people were willing to fight to keep it that way, but ... it's so much worse than that. I have a lot of opinions and thoughts, but I don't know what's next. I need to do more, but I haven't figured out what more looks like just yet.

I'm working on it. For now, I'm focused on amplifying Black voices on Twitter. I'm also working on coming up with ways to address racist comments when I see them. It's not enough to hide or mute the people in my life who make those comments. All that does is assure my own comfort. Ignoring that which is wrong is how we got here, and I won't do it anymore. So if I call you out on social media? You had it coming. That's not a threat, it's a promise to myself and to all of the Black Americans who have watched me and people like me ignore hurtful language.

I will stop ignoring the trash. While in the past I've taken the stance that some trash isn't worth acknowledging, I now realize I was wrong. While I still can't fix that trash, I can signal to others that I do not find it to be acceptable. I can help to create an environment where it's not comfortable to say racist things.

But there needs to be more.

We all need to do more.