I’m white. I acknowledge that.
So maybe I don’t get a voice here. But I’m going to show up with my voice and use it as it flows out as I type it.
My daughters are 50% Navajo. More native to this country than most of us walking around. They don’t have a voice right now, so I’m going to use my voice as a white woman who is the mother to minority children.
We’ve talked about social justice movements in our family. We’ve talked about the injustices throughout history as well as currently. We don’t white wash anything over here.
We, as a nation and world have been through it together.
“Me Too.”
“Black Lives Matter.”
“Me Too. Again.”
“Black Lives Matter. Still.”
“Stop Asian Hate.”
I agree. To ALL of that. YES to waking up to the experiences of others and not turning a blind eye. And if you turn a blind eye, that’s on you. People are going to scream because they want you to HEAR, but you won’t even LOOK or consider the thought that maybe their points-of-view are as valid as yours... As holy, as complete, as worthy as yours.
Maybe these movements have shocked you because you didn’t really get what happens in this world of beauty and this world of terror. I get it. Maybe you weren’t shocked because you’ve LIVED it. I get it.
I’m a white woman in America. Born out of wedlock to a single mom. To some people I look Hispanic. I’ve been welcomed by some Hispanics because of it and treated like crap by other races because of it. I look white to some people. I’ve been treated like an “other” by Black people, Hispanic people, and even Native Americans who I was family with. I’ve also been “othered” by white people who come from a traditional mother-father family. I’ve been “othered” by people of different religious beliefs, and even “othered” by my own church when I didn’t fit the mold.
I. Get. It.
I’ve been gossiped about, and backstabbed. I’ve been put on pedestals and then judged by those who put me there.
Me Too. Black Lives Matter. And Stop Asian Hate.
These are just THREE movements and….
- We haven’t even begun to dive into the IMMENSE injustices of the Natives of this country.
- What about the movement for the treatment of Muslims or Hindus in this country?
- Indian Americans?
- Italian Americans?
- All the variations of Americans who are stereotyped and treated poorly because of it?
- The way we turn a blind eye to the people on the street or the Veterans who served our country?
We can keep talking about the smoke or we can address the FIRE.
What is the fire that is the underlying cause of all of these? Many would say hate. Hate is there… but hate is not the cause.
The fire is HIERARCHY. The belief that some people are better than other people or the belief that treatment of certain people is JUST based on the color of their skin, or their religious beliefs, or political beliefs, or just about anything.
This hierarchy becomes a part of your life from childhood. From your parents, your community, your schooling, your church, your education level, etc.
You start to believe…
- THIS is good, THAT is bad.
- Or THIS is good, THAT is less good.
- THESE types of people are good, THOSE types of people are less good.
This invisible mental hierarchy places people above and below people, instead of creating any sense of equality. No matter what race or gender you are, most of us have been creating an unseen hierarchy in our heads since childhood.
Mental Hierarchy looks like this:
- If you think you’re better than people because of your religion... Then you don’t believe those “other” souls are as valuable, as smart or as worthy as your soul. And it makes sense that you wouldn’t treat them as such.
- If you think you’re better than people because of your political beliefs... More woke than the dumb folk... Then you don’t believe those “other” souls are as valuable, as smart or as worthy as your soul. And it makes sense that you wouldn’t treat them as such.
- If you think you’re better than people because of your gender or the color of your skin... Then you don’t believe those “other” souls are as valuable, as smart or as worthy as your soul. And it makes sense that you wouldn’t treat them as such.
Therefore, our problem is the hierarchy we have created in our own heads with the belief that “I am better, or more deserving, or more worthy than a person who is X, Y, and/or Z.”
It’s time to start looking at ourselves and seeing where we think we’re better than others. More “right” and therefore more “worthy” of respect. This is an exercise for ALL humans. Because if seeing your side of the story means I’m now below you, all we’ve done is create another hierarchy. If we truly care about equality it means we don’t put people beneath us in order to feel more “equal”. It means we start to dismantle the hierarchy.
You can be PROUD of who you are without thinking you’re ABOVE other people in the mental hierarchy that’s been built in your head. This isn’t about erasing differences. It’s making sure those differences don’t create an above and below society. A belief system of ranking human beings against other human beings.
How do we put out the fire? We begin to walk around and TRULY believe that every soul walking is a reflection of the Divine. And that they deserve to be treated as such. That they could be you and you could be them.
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