I will be the first person to criticize social media for the ways in which it promotes narcissistic, self-aggrandizing behavior and only tells half the story of what is going on in a person’s life.
Many people don’t post every single thing they think or do on social media (myself being one of them), but I also see people still posting self-promotion without lending their voices to the anti-racist effort.
If you have the time to post pictures of yourself at the beach or promote your small business, you have time to post a line coming out in support of Black Lives Matter. Showing support is crucial. Even Amazon has a message posted on the front page of their mobile app showing support, for pete’s sake.
It’s not a political or partisan issue. If you’re unable to say that you support equal rights for all races, why? Do you think this premise might be wrong, and that all races DON’T deserve equal treatment and access to safety and opportunity? Are you afraid of what your friends or family will think? Are you trying to stay out of it? What privilege you have that you can ignore the suffering of others and face no consequences!
I would ask that you please consider your values and assess whether you will, in time, regret not supporting this movement. When your grandchildren, or your friend’s grandchildren (for those of us who don’t plan to have kids), ask you about this point in time, will you be proud to honestly say, “Well, I didn’t do anything because I was afraid of what my family would think. I just didn’t want to be confrontational.”
You need to have confidence that YOU are right and that regardless of who disagrees with you today, your voice matters and it should be heard. The fact that racism is wrong isn’t up for debate, so why the hesitancy to join the chorus? Your voice against racism has the ability to reach someone who needs to hear it.
