The Backslide
White people have shown out.
Last week’s insurrection at the capitol still has me riled. I cannot believe white terrorists were allowed to storm the capital, bringing with them military grade equipment, and beating up officers of the law with little push back. AND the 45th president addressing the mob, encouraging their motives! I keep thinking this man cannot get any lower, but he proves me wrong every time. He, however, is just one man, and what I will never understand are those who continue to support him. 74 million. The number of voters who wanted him to lead this country for another 4 years. How does someone who time and time again shows us he only cares about himself appeal to the public as president? Again, white people have shown out.
Prior to Trump’s saga, I had waaaaay more faith in white people, but the level of complacency, and support that surrounds this man is hard for me to wrap my head around. Prior to 2016, I believed there were lines even white people wouldn’t cross, especially when it came to protecting their freedom, something our current administration has zero respect for. Now I realize the tendrils of systematic racism and white supremacy run deep.
Most times, I do not consider myself a part of this country. I cannot relate to those who stormed the capital. For me it was embarrassing, sad, and frustrating. It was another reminder of the white privilege that exist and the scale that it operates on. Reminders that Black people in this country are, on a good day, second-class citizens, are becoming more prevalent for me; they are hard to ignore. Just the smallest infringement for us can result in death. The varied response of our government to peaceful #BlackLivesMatter protestors and deadly terrorist is a prime example. Why was the government so afraid of a group peacefully and rightly voicing their frustrations with the racism still plaguing our country, but a group with intentions of violence were allowed to access to the capital; the government and law enforcement stepping aside to allow their entry. I will never understand this.
With the election of our first Black president in 2008, I believed our country was more progressive than what the past four years have shown. The level of scrutiny The Obama’s experienced just because they were Black people is hard to stomach now when there is a person in the oval office who has broken dozens of laws at this point and has now been impeached for a second time.
As a country we are backsliding. The backslide, or regression to a previous time, does not sit well with me. The whole concept of making America great again does not sound like an improvement. I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams. Many of my ancestors were unable to receive education past high school if that, not because they were uninterested in school, but because they did not have access. Becoming a homeowner for previous generations of Black people was a feat. Even if you had the money Home Owners Associations generated policies that denied Black people the opportunity to live in communities with better schools and opportunities for upward mobility. I am my ancestors’ wildest dreams BUT I am met with some of the same exclusionary barriers they were faced with.
We need to wake up and put the brakes on this backslide before it’s too late.
Do not ignore the discomfort, but rather use it as fuel to change and demand better from our country.
Do not get complacent.