An Open Letter to Friends, Family and Other Sideline Supporters of the Protests
You know who you are. And you know we love you.
Hey there! As you know, we’ve shared a lot of challenging feelings and experiences over the past few weeks.
I’m deeply honored that you’ve expressed so much concern for my safety and well-being — and for my fellow peaceful protestors. I care every bit as deeply about your own happiness, health and security.
Although I don’t have many answers, I do think now is a good time to investigate the root causes of the pain we’re all feeling these days.
For example, is it really worthwhile to elect leaders who view our fellow human beings as inferior, simply because of the color of their skin, or the country they come from, or the steps they’ve been compelled to take to build better lives for their own children?
I ask that question from a place of humility and love. My desire is not to antagonize or debate, but to invite you to trace the problems we’re facing, logically, step-by-step, back to their points of origin— to question and investigate, without fear of where logic might lead; seeking only truth.
If anything I’m saying here is untrue, tell me so and I will admit my error. If not, I trust and respect you to come to your own conclusions.
While I do know some of the police responsible for the shootings and killings of unarmed peaceful protestors, I have no idea who shot either of the young men in Seattle — or any of those in North Carolina. Police say they don’t have any leads, or even a confirmed motive, in any of the cases.
But I do believe it’s wrong to deny any person access to emergency medical care — and I’m sure you feel the same. If I’d been on the scene, I would’ve rushed my wounded friends to the nearest hospital myself.
I’d also like to point out a confirmed fact: armed white-supremacist zealots are actively “patrolling” hot zones and threatening unarmed protestors. Here’s the Facebook page of one such group / event, Back the Blue.
Meanwhile, lone-gun vigilantes like Christopher Ritchie claim they’re “supporting” the cops — yet they act entirely on their own recognizance, disdaining moral and national laws, vandalizing property and inciting violence at peaceful protests:
As for me, I have no desire to interact with any violent person, on either side.
My question is, who’s standing up to protect our communities against the violent radicals on all sides? When Islamic-radical terrorists attacked churches in Cairo and other Egyptian cities, peaceful Christians and Muslims literally joined hands to keep the victims safe. Where are those heroic brothers and sisters in our own country right now?
The fact is, human rights are not an abstract issue.
Slavery, segregation and all other forms of racial oppression are highly concrete and morally wrong. It’s time to put an end to them.
I haven’t presented any of these facts in an antagonistic way. From day one, I’ve advanced open and productive dialogue, researched events, shared observations, freely admitted when I was wrong, and taken immediate practical steps to correct mistakes I’ve made.
I believe I bear a moral and ethical responsibility to advocate for profound change at this moment in history, just as I would’ve advocated for abolition of slavery if I’d lived in the 1800s — and for de-segregation of schools, hotels, restrooms and water fountains if I’d lived in the 1960s.
I was just staring at the above photo— thinking, “You know, if I saw this image in a history book, I would say, ‘There is no way on earth I wouldn’t have taken these people’s side if I’d lived back then. They were clearly in the right, and we now live in a more equitable world because of the changes they pushed through.’”
And we’re facing a similar situation right now, as you read these words.
For example, consider the following 9 points:
1) Private correctional facilities and prison labor represent a $4.8 billion American industry with annual profits of $629 million.
2) Nearly one out of every 100 U.S. citizens is currently in prison or jail.
3) The U.S. has by far the highest per-capita incarceration rate of any nation on earth — including Russia, Iran and China.
4) The number of American prisoners has quadrupled to more than 2.2 million since 1980.
5) Black Americans comprise a full 40 percent of the U.S. prison population.
6) A full 74 percent of people held in U.S. prisons and jails have not been formally convicted of any crime.
7) These inmates are assigned numbers instead of legal names, and are prohibited from owning most personal property.
8) Many of these black prisoners are forced to plow soil, to harvest crops, and to build roads and houses — all for minimal or no wages.
9) These unpaid hard laborers are frequently bartered, traded and shipped to prisons in other states, far from their families.
What other historical forced labor system does the above arrangement strongly resemble?
If we were talking about any other country, what name would you give that labor system?
Knowing all that, how could I not take the side of the protestors marching now?
I know you’re scared. I’m scared too. I also know that history “rhymes” with itself, and we’re living in another of those moments when it’s time to make uncomfortable changes, for the sake of a healthier future for all of us.
Yes, societal transformation is always deeply upsetting to people who benefit from the current social system. It was terrifying to white slave-owners in the 1800s, to British colonialists in India and Africa throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, and to civil-rights opponents in the 1960s.
But in all those historical eras, many of our ancestors knew slave labor and segregation were morally wrong — even as they continued to participate in a society that perpetuated those cruelties. That was just “how things were.”
Many of our ancestors felt they had no choice but to go with the flow of “normal life,” even when they strongly disapproved of racist practices.
Progress and change don’t stop with this generation, either. We will never attain perfection — yet we must continue to strive for it.
I’m sure when I’m in my sixties, adults in the 2050s will be demanding to know how I could have enjoyed eating meat from chickens and cows imprisoned in death factories. They’ll want to know why I casually threw away plastic, knowing full well it would end up in the ocean and kill marine animals. They’ll ask how I justified my ownership of a gas-guzzling car that polluted the earth’s atmosphere with toxic carbon smog.
When our descendants ask me those questions, I’ll be standing right where you are today. I’ll listen to their arguments, remain receptive to their criticisms, readily apologize for my mistakes, seek out opportunities to learn and live better, and work to atone for the wrongs I’ve committed.
Everyone’s free to make up their own mind about my actions and those of others. But as dark as the world looks at this moment, I believe our better natures will ultimately triumph.
That very fact itself means we must keep striving for progress toward equality.
Thanks for listening.
