Read on Twitter
Just want to write this out, to have it down how how I feel right now and maybe get some of this fear and anger out of me. That& #39;s been inside for so long and just keeps getting worse every time a police organized murder is shown on tv or the internet (a thread)
As a white gay man, I& #39;m very aware that while I may not be at the top of the totem pole of privilege, I am still VERY much benefitting from it in my life. I want to make sure in this thread that I address that I, as well as every other white person, have been benefitting from..
..racisim for centuries. On top of that, I grew up in a very small, very racist community in south Arkansas. I have actively participated in racism as a child when I knew no better, and for that I will always apologize and do whatever I can to unlearn, and get better..
.. Growing up as a gay kid in small town AR, I literally feared for my life almost every day from my family. I listened to family members talk about how they wish they could wipe gays off the planet and what they would do if they saw two men kissing or holding hands in public..
.. thankfully I was able to move out and escape this terrifying situation that I was trapped in. Black and brown people do not have that luxury. They are forced to live with it everywhere they go, every day of the year, and every minute of the day..
..Not only from law enforcement, but also just from ever white person they see on the street. White people know they have privilege. They know that if they walk up and punch a person of color in the face and the cops are called, they& #39;re gonna win that battle. One way or another..
..These protests, while not nearly giving others a taste of what they feel, force them to see the world outside of their small bubble that they live in. And we still have a long way to go..
..The fact that I& #39;m even scared to post this, that I& #39;m scared someone from work may see this and I could lose my job for my views on this, show that racism isn& #39;t just the things people say, but also the values that are ingrained so hard into our society as a whole..
.. also the fact that this is even a controversial opinion to have in some circles is ridiculous. There are two sides of the protests, one side is saying "please don& #39;t kill us" and the other side is saying "no". Why is that even a choice someone has to make?
While I know the struggles of black people and the LGBT+ community are not the same, we all know and understand oppression. We all know fear and pain to some degree and we can all see that the black community is directly under fire, and has been for years.
And if we can& #39;t stand up and help our brothers and sisters of color, then how can we live with ourselves as human beings? How can we claim we welcome all, if we watch innocent people die and do nothing. I& #39;m terrified, but they have been for hundreds of years.
Please, if you can donate, do so, either with your time, money, or privilege in anyway that you can. This country is quite literally on fire and we are the only ones who are going to put it out.