I posted this on my personal Facebook and Instagram pages and I think it’s important that I post it here as well. As a small business owner who happens to be a woman and POC, I want it to be known where I stand in regards to injustice towards people because of the color of their skin, race, gender identity, sexual orientation, etc.
Racism in the United States is a very real and very serious problem. Now is not the time to avoid discussion about it. If you’re uncomfortable talking about it and unwilling to speak out against it, take a moment to reflect on why that is.
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I used to be part of a Facebook group for my neighborhood, which is predominantly Polish. An incident occurred involving a Polish woman and some members of the group began making racist comments about Polish people in general. I called out these people for their blatant racism and another member told me, “You’re not Polish. Don’t speak for us. We don’t need you to defend us.”
If we are of the mindset that we should only speak out against injustices towards people that look like us or are of our same ethnic background, we are fucked as a society and civilization.
I’ve had to unlearn years of stereotyping and racist thinking. It’s not uncommon for Filipinas to be told or have it implied that they shouldn’t date a black guy. However, if they were to bring home a white guy they would be celebrated because among a lot of Filipinos it is believed that white people are superior to black people and even to themselves.
It is all of our responsibility to unlearn this kind of garbage and do something about our ignorance. It is on every single one of us to speak out against racism in any form.
I’m also seeing people saying that if you say “Black Lives Matter” then you have to speak out against racism towards Asian Americans, especially during this pandemic. Yes, do that. Please.
Here’s the thing: saying “Black Lives Matter” doesn’t mean other lives don’t. If black lives don’t matter, no one else’s life matters. We are all human beings seeking to live our lives. We are all human beings wanting to make it home to our families alive.
One group of people’s experience with racism is not worse than another group’s experience. All racism is bullshit and should not be tolerated. I can be infuriated about what happened to George Floyd and also be infuriated about racist and xenophobic attacks against Asian Americans. We don’t have to choose just one incident to be angry about. Be angry about it all.
Be angry and do something to help us move forward as a society and country.
Be angry and call out white supremacy and racism.
Be angry and stand in solidarity with our black brothers and sisters.
Graphic by Kalaya’an Mendoza