If the purpose of a blog post is to start a conversation no one wanted to have with you in the first place, I’ve got the perfect topic to not talk about!
I’ve seen a graphic floating around the internet; a seemingly reasonable and woke sentiment, wrapped in self-preservation and privilege.
At first, and not surprisingly, I took an ounce of comfort and resolve at the thought of having all my own ideologies confirmed without having to fit into a box. One of the clearest, most overdue desires to be heightened by this pandemic, election and racial uprising is the deconstruction of the binary, particularly when speaking of gender, sexual orientation, political parties, etc.
However…graphics like this are a perfect example of what Dr. Martin Luther King referenced in his Letter from Birmingham Jail:
“I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to ‘order’ than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice [...]”
Obviously over these last eight months, we are in frantic search of meaning; an explanation or probable pattern in such uncertain and deeply chaotic times. As such, the cult and social construct of white supremacy as well as white wellness culture, is notably skilled in taking acutely complex and nuanced sentiment and rigging them to suit the love & light, peace be with all beings rhetoric. We’re brilliant with that.
While this meme appears to expose complexity, it’s actually a desperate attempt to cling to the middle ground; a safe haven where we get to reject accountability and ownership over our deeply held ideology. Of course, our mind, heart and values are subject to change as we evolve and are presented with new information, but when we find ways to conveniently nuzzle in the middle of issues around basic human rights and the state of the planet on which we ALL reside, we exhibit the very privilege, violence and straight up white asshole fuckery that has silenced and gaslit BIPOC and folks in the LGTBQIA+ community for generations.
I pinged these thoughts about the meme off my best friend and she said this:
“this meme gives people permission to cherry pick for individualism and self-preservation as you said, under the guise of banishing the binary, which is truly a gut shot to the progressive movement. The reason we have created political parties is because people need structure in order to comprehend complex things, if people decide to take on the understanding of the nuance and complexities of human nature while maintaining empathy for the collective good, THEN they can have permission to let go of the binary structuralism of our political system. But to do it as a way of serving yourself and what you think is best for you, is not helpful, nor woke, nor open minded... it’s flagrant disregard for our community as a collective.
What we are seeing is people attempting to preserve their ego at the expense of truly having empathy for this world by finding narratives that fit their individualism best.”
To choose a political party, especially these days, feels incongruent with progress, at least for me. And no doubt, the democratic party —of which I’ve mainly aligned myself with feels moot, outdated, complicated and fraudulent
Let us not slip on our own pile of horse shit. Either we go all the way or there is no more way. Either we make our staunch and perhaps controversial views known or we fade into the background completely.
Social media is not built for the middle. It is not accommodating to complexity, nuance or multi-dimensional thought, through post or meme. We are literally reduced to tiny squares and a limited number of characters. The best we can do is use those tiny squares and allotted characters to make bold statements about where we stand; to not be afraid of losing people or making folks uncomfortable. There is a difference between causing harm and offending someone. Learn the difference, then post how you really feel.