We march for Equality but Remember
First of all, GO Edmonton. We may have taken down the sign that said “City of Champions,” but our ability to show up for a cause on Friday, June 5, 2020, shows that a champion heart lives inside of us all. I think about all the festivals I have been to, and I can never remember when I saw that many people at once (not even after a hockey or football game). They say there were over 15,000 people in attendance, and The Rogers Arena holds 18,000 if you need a visual.
My heart became filled as I watched all races came together as one.
We were loud.
We were proud.
We wanted to change.
We demonstrated change.
We wanted respect.
We showed respect.
We wanted love.
We felt love.
We used our voices to show emotions.
But regardless of the emotions, we knew more needed to happen in our unity. So with that, we wanted fund allocation to support those who are vulnerable. We urged for the removal of funding from the system that persecutes those who suffer and use it to empower.
We used our love to show that we all are one.
We demonstrated to our children that all races could join together.
We showed our elders and our ancestors that we would continue to make Canada the land that was once promised to them.
My heart melted as the struggle became a tender embrace.
My heart melted as Canadian police protected us as we marched through the streets and broke all social distance rules. However, my heart also broke with sadness. The sadness that comes when we degrade those around us because of colour, employment, social position, or generalized perception.
Our rights do not come at the loss of someone’s humanity.
Yes, we take a knee, but we should not penalize those who do not without questioning their motive. When we yell profanities, hate or judgemental comments, we forget that there are more to appearances. We allow their behaviour to become our behaviour. We forget that although someone may look healthy their maybe more on the inside. We forget that some may not get back up due to health reasons (even if they appear young). So, instead of penalizing them with public shame, I encourage you to support the cause by empowering them with the knowledge of why we take a knee.
Yes, police brutality opened our eyes, but it does not mean we paint all officers with a brush of shame.
I watched as some rallied against officers. Some officers were shamed for their presence. However, many did not know that they arrived because of racial threats towards the cause. I watched as officers delayed traffic so we could march in the streets. Yet, they were again shamed for not taking a knee when they were protecting us from a potentially ignorant driver. I watched as officers on motorcycles were cornered as people chanted around them to leave their bike and take a knee.
They forgot the logistics that surround that situation as they were now at work. Forgetting this officer is currently one person surrounded by a swarm who deems him the enemy. This officer is now in a position that so many have endured that lead to our trauma. Why are we continuing the cycle of trauma?
When we approach officers with anger and force, we aren’t creating the peaceful change we desire; instead, we are amplifying hatred. We are judging them based on their presence as they do to us, making us no better as we forget that there is more to them than we know. They may be mixed race; they may have a coloured spouse. We do not know. We assume they are there to hurt us, BUT NOT ALL officers are the problem.
Yes, white people created this system of oppression, but there are white races that have experienced genocide.
Don’t get me wrong there are a ton of white people whose privilege has blinded them from equality. But NOT ALL white people are the problem. Not all white people wish to destroy. For some, white people have also been the victims of genocide and other forms of oppression.
Yes, we all know about the Holocaust, but what about The Holodomor was a human-made famine in Soviet Ukraine in 1932 and 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. It is also known as the Terror-Famine that was implemented by someone else’s skin, which was white.
The problem is the system, but the problem is our lack of humanity when greed for profit owns our hearts.
So, I write this to remind you to love. To enter with the intent of engaging the struggle wholeheartedly with patience, persistence and compassion. I write this to tell you that not everyone is the enemy, so please use dialogue and not oppression to change their hearts and open their eyes.