I almost missed these guys this morning, but I always glance over because they're often there. As I approached, the seal on the right raised his/her head to look at me. Can you see it? Can you see all 4 seals? Or maybe you can see more...they have a way of blending into the rocks.
Which got me thinking about camouflage and blending in. In our society, being white is like being camouflaged. We blend in to our surroundings, almost all the time. You know how black parents have to have "the talk" with their kids, to keep them as safe as possible? If not, here's just one article about it. https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/news/20200608/deaths-shape-how-black-parents-navigate-the-talk Google it and you can find many, many more.
As a white person, nobody had to have that talk with me. I do not live in fear that I could be stopped, harassed, intimidated, arrested, or killed simply because of my skin color. It is outrageous and heartbreaking that any of God's precious children live in that fear.
Yesterday I watched Just Mercy again. If you haven't seen it, it is streaming for free this month. Watch it. The scene where Bryan Stevenson is pulled over made my blood run cold. In my head I was saying, "don't talk back, don't make excuses." It was like watching a horror movie where someone is walking downstairs at night because they heard a noise. "Don't do it!" Driving, or walking, or jogging, or sleeping, should not be a horror movie.
Systemic racism must be dismantled. I am doing my own work, and I am counting on the people around me to speak the truth to me about my complicity and complacency, so that I might do better. Let's work for a world where camouflage isn't necessary for anyone's survival.
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