These are turbulent times, and I am so tired of it, of the constant hate and discrimination and the constant flow of social ills that I need to care about. But, when I am exhausted, I remind myself that it is much more exhausting to be the one oppressed, to be the one who lives in constant fear that they may not make it to the end of the day solely because of the way they look or the way they are.
I want to be an ally but, compounded with my social anxiety, I never know what to say or do. I want to be helpful and supportive, but I am fully aware that my help and support may cause more harm than good. So, then, how can I be an ally? I think the first thing, and most important thing, I need to do is to educate myself. I have been reading the articles written by those who are most affected and am committing to reading more, listening more, and trying to understand more, as well as incorporating what I learn into my own ways of thinking and doing.
I was trying to decide whether or not I should make a list here of all the resources I’ve been seeing online, but you know what? There are so many articles and lists online of how to help written by people more eloquent and more knowledgeable than me, that I will defer to them instead. What matters is that you and I are willing to search these resources out and use them.
Learning is not only about academic subjects. It is also about empathetically listening to other people’s lived experiences. It is trying to interrogate and understand the root causes of phenomena that touches our everyday lives, things we take for granted or as “obvious”. It is about trying to become better for others, and in that process becoming better for ourselves.
Black lives matter. LGBTQA+ lives matter. Refugee and immigrant lives matter. Your life matters.