I was afraid to say this but
A lot of stuff has been going on. It's kind of hard to wrap my mind around all of it. A few days ago another seemingly innocent black man was murdered in broad daylight by cops. A few weeks ago, another murder, by civilians. I haven't made any statements because I'm not sure how to. I assumed for a long time that I "wasn't allowed" to speak my peace because I'm not black. A silver lining in all of this, if there is one, is you have all helped me feel more empowered than ever. You've told me that my voice is appreciated and should be used. The problem is I don't know what to say anymore. I don't want to speak with frustration and I don't want to speak with anger. I know that my privilege is what makes me different. I'm removed from the situation enough to not exclusively feel those emotions. I'd like to think that violence is not the right course of action. I want to exude empathy but also reason. Emotional responses are absolutely necessary, but I want solutions- and as reasonable as violence sounds right now, I can't let that be the solution for me. I believe too strongly that we can't fix things like that. I believe too strongly that we are meant to live in harmony and I believe too strongly that we are meant to love.
Unfortunately though, the lack of it is causing people to lose their lives. And it's not self inflicted. These are murders. These are people filled with hate unable to fill their void souls with anything but whatever "this" is. I don't get it. I never will.
Don't we understand that these people have families? Don’t we understand that this is a son or daughter? Or that they could be a mother or father? Don’t we understand that these are our brothers and sisters?
One of my best friends told me not to feel paralyzed by the state of the world. It's going to take a very long time for things to get to where we want them to be, but that doesn't mean we should stop trying. It's totally possible that we won't see the change we hoped for in our lifetime, but that doesn't mean we shouldn’t try. If not in our lifetime, hopefully, the next. I pray the faith will carry over...
But that's just me.
If there's any silver lining in any of this. It's the support that the black community has been giving out amongst their pain and anger. Even though I felt comfortable enough to speak about the music that I love with my best friends, I was always afriad to over step my boundaries on black issues. This is the first time I've felt empowered to speak on a culture that helped raise me. I'm a 23 year old Tamil Canadian who grew up with a lot of hip-hop influence. I love the person I am today and I owe most of that to my family, but A LOT of that to black/hip hop culture.
I know I have a voice and I know I have a responsibility. I'll do my best to move with purity and respect. If I do ever overstep, please correct me. I’ll know I deserve it. But if I can support the communities that have supported me, I'll know I’ll be happy. So thank you. I'm with you. And I promise you I'll do everything I can to make this world a better place. Starting with the man in the mirror.