The Black Lives Matter movement has dominated my consciousness the last few weeks. I understand that this movement is about way more than myself, but I can only speak from my own experience and perspective. This issue is far deeper and reaching than I can hope to fathom, but I’m doing my best.
I have had deep conversations with many people of different skin tones, political affiliations, upbringings and patterns of thinking. This is the most effective work I think I can do for now. Listen and understand where people are coming from, even when I disagree with their lines of thinking.
Black lives do matter and the injustices black people face are undeniable. We need to change things on a systemic level to establish equity. I feel like this is obvious and inarguable. That said, I don’t think it’s entirely useful for me to continue screaming this into the echo chamber. Police brutality and racial injustice has been called out to the point where change is undeniably necessary. Personally though, I believe our cultural problems reach far deeper than those enforcing the law, and all of us, regardless of skin color, face similar injustices at the root.
I’ve never felt safer because a police officer was around. Seeing a squad car as I drive immediately spikes my heart rate. Cops function more as extortionists than keepers of peace in my experience. The people I know who have become law enforcement officers are the last people who should be dawning a gun and a badge, angry dudes with inferiority complexes lusting for power over others. Combine this lack of character with legal immunity, less training than a hair stylist, a GI Joe outfit and a bat mobile, and here we are.
This isn’t to say that all cops are bad people. I’m sure many of them are doing their best to live out the righteous duty ascribed to them in children’s cartoons. The truth is, police officers in America have a seriously difficult job. These guys and girls lack the training necessary to feel true confidence in the duties they fulfill. Every interaction is one of life and death because a gun is involved. Even if the firearm remains holstered, its presence is in the consciousness of both parties.
People, when stopped by the police, know the interaction could cost them life, freedom, and money. The cop, just doing their job, has to maintain a quota, perpetuating fear and distaste, enforcing laws and writing tickets, maintaining arbitrary control. It’s a gross job, I sure wouldn’t want to do it.
The role of police officers in our society needs to be reformed for both the people and law enforcement officers alike. The role police officers are forced to play in our society insults their integrity. Many of these brave people signed up to keep the peace, ensure safety and quell corruption.
We need to remove money from policing and incarceration. Robbing people of freedom, regardless of circumstance, should not be a profitable business. We need to allow police officers to do what’s right, a slow day would ideally be a good day in their line of work.
The way I see it though, law enforcement is just that. They’re just the people enforcing law. In a corrupt system cops are the first layer, the one we interact with, but our cultural problems run far deeper than police. We live in a classist system, beholden to corporate greed. Our politicians are bought, we are intentionally divided, fear is the mechanism. Control is maintained by pitting us against them in whatever context is suitable.
How do we bring people together and quell racial division? There are many laws which must be changed, but I have very little power over legislation at this point. People say “vote” and I agree that this is a good place to start, especially locally, but I lack confidence in institutional politicians. This is why I feel we must do our part on a human level. How do we find common ground and understanding? I think we start with those perpetuating the patterns of thinking we stand against. Let’s start with the racists.
I am by no means defending racist behavior and bigotry, but I think it is useful to understand people afflicted by these evils so we can learn to quell them. Every home I’ve ever seen with a confederate flag flying outside has been in rough shape at best. A majority of the time, flagrant racists are severely undereducated, lack exposure to people that aren’t just like them, are spoon fed fear by Fox News, and are very much struggling to get by. Given this variable set, it’s pretty clear how generational ignorance is maintained.
In our travels we have spent time in many conservative small towns. In these remote areas I see very few people with skin any darker than my own. The people living in these towns would be lucky to have the opportunity for conversation with a black person.
In these small towns there is a sense of community, common patterns of thinking and plenty struggle. The problems of the world seem far reaching and out of touch with reality. Jobs are evaporating in these towns due a litany of factors. People need something, someone to blame for their struggle and the news willingly provides the desired scapegoat. It’s the other. They are doing this to us. It’s the Mexicans taking their jobs. It’s the blacks taking their money. The thinking is, “I pay all these taxes to support people I don’t even know. Meanwhile I live a humble life, if the government didn’t take all my money I could take care of my family.”
We are all struggling out here. Our governmental and financial systems feed oppression. Without exposure, the poor white man has no idea how tough it is for the black man. Our political parties keep these groups pitted against one another. If the institutionally disenfranchised people of all colors could stand together, we may be able to incite real change.
It feels good to yell at people with different views than us, but these screams only perpetuate division. This phenomena is obviated on social media, especially now, as the BLM movement gains momentum. Callout culture serves as a wedge in this divide. White people calling out other white people to do more, say more, yell more because “white silence is violence.” Calling out other people makes us feel powerful. “It’s not on me, now it’s on them.” This finger pointing can inspire superficial action, yet is unlikely to provoke the necessary change.
It’s easy to post a viral meme or quote Dr. King to show support for the movement. It is far more difficult to use our voice to contribute usefully, these useful contributions take time, deep thought, conversation and contemplation.
It seems simple. Just post #blacklivesmatter. That's all there is to it. Sure, that shows some level of solidarity, yet lacks substance. Of course Elsa and I are with our black brothers and sisters. If you've ever interacted with us you know we are inclusive people. We clearly see systemic injustices and they drive us mad. This is partially why we choose to live far away from the chaos, finding solace in nature. We do our best to teach all people what we learn. To show people there is a simple way. We don't need all the things our culture sells us. We can find validation from within. We are learning and teaching liberation mechanisms.
If wealth consists of having more than you need, the easiest way to become wealthy is to need very little. In our culture of gluttonous consumption and vanity, self reliance and minimalism are subversive. Our way of living is our protest.
We see that these issues run deep. Injustice is systemic in our culture. Oppression is the norm, consumption is encouraged, ecology is thrashed and money revered. We know this is wrong and we are trying our best to exorcise the corruption.
Meanwhile, nature’s way of continuing on despite human calamity is fascinating. Trees still wave in the wind, flowers bloom, lizards bask, creeks flow, caterpillars grow, rain falls, birds sing and sun shines. Nature thrives. Natural systems live on, as the superficial human grip slips. It’s easy to forget manufactured panic in the forest. The chaos we bring ourselves is unnecessary. If we could remember how little we need to thrive, reflection on our greed would become comical.
Humans seem to have a tendency to separate into us versus them. In a constant search for which person or people to blame. We could blame this on tribalistic nature, but I think this divisive attitude falls more on the responsibility of egoic individualism than natural tribalism. If we were led by our root nature, we would realize that we are all part of the same team, the tribe of life.
Our constant infighting is juvenile, though these tendencies are often perpetuated by grown men under the guise of leadership. These people are to be pitied, yet our lust for power leads us to envy. One could argue that the insatiable greed for control over other beings is natural. I believe it to be a result of culture over nature. At this level though, determining which patterns are deeply natural or anthropogenic is a trivial pursuit. All things caused by humans are indeed natural, as we are a result of natural systems. The question is more to the effect of actions being in the interest of living prosperity or corruption.
Are our actions facilitating the whole of life? Or are they narrow minded? Serving solely the interest of humans, our culture, our country, our state, our town, our family or ourselves. We act in greed and fear in hopes of preserving ourselves, yet if we fail to act in accordance with the whole of nature, we do so to our own detriment.
We desperately need to take our foot off the gas as a species and remember our place in all this. From what I can tell, Mother Nature has seemingly endless patience, yet I believe it wise not to provoke her strength. We must maintain our allegiance with all of life if we wish to persist as a species.