This past weekend we spent some time up at John's Mom's place, and I decided not to take my computer. That is why I didn't get up my usual post yesterday. While I felt like it might be better to wait until next week to write this, I decided that I wanted to simply say a few things; so, I'll keep this short and sweet. Sorry for the delay.
Dear Mr. President,
This letter to you is going to be rather short as I haven't had a lot of time to spend thinking about and learning about politics this week. But I did have a few moments to reflect this week, and I wanted to share those thoughts with you--abbreviated though they may be.
It's a strange thing to have to still be talking about racism to me, but here we are in 2021, and the problems that colonialism created are still haunting us to this day. Derek Chauvin's trial dominated most of the beginning of last week (as well the weeks preceding it.) And I think many people were grateful to see that perhaps our laws in this country might be what many of us hoped for them to be--just and fair. The idea that someone could murder another person (accidentally or otherwise,) and not have to face consequences for it isn't just, and far too often that has been the outcome of such cases. To see our laws working as they're meant to be--to know that a man who disregarded the health and well-being of a citizen of our country to the point where, in his custody, that man died, and to know that he will be serving jail time for this offense is...a relief. But it's telling that such a simple act of justice was in doubt; it speaks to a psyche that has been damaged and traumatized, and one that we need to continue to seek to heal by continuous acts of justice such as this. Then, perhaps, one day black people won't feel like they have to fight simply to exist.
I even heard it last night as I watched the Oscar's--a respected and honored Oscar woman speaking about the need to "fight" for her people. It was one of the few moments last night when I found myself uncomfortable. Through no fault of my own, I was born a very white albino woman, and it has afforded me some amount of privilege in my life. And while I am also legally blind, and thus considered disabled, I don't feel like I've ever had to fight for my rights in quite the same way as that woman has. She won last night for Best Song, "Fight for You" and her name is H.E.R. (birth name, Gabriella Sarmiento Wilson.) When you have to stand up and say that you are going to "fight for your people," what does that say about us? I can't imagine what it would be like to be a minority based on the color of my skin. I can't begin to understand the depth of pain and suffering that happens every day because of a lack of recognition of past (and oftentimes, present,) truths.
And so it was an awkward moment for me--knowing that in some way her words weren't meant for me. She was speaking to the trauma of the American Black Experience; she was speaking to her fellow black men and women here and around the world who feel like their pain has been marginalized, forgotten, or in many cases, purposefully swept under the rug to hide inconvenient truths. And I think the reason I really felt uncomfortable about it was because there was such a division in our world--something that I had been complicit in by my own tacit actions. And while I am trying to do better, I hope one day that these amazing black men and women will also be fighting for me, too--that one day I will be someone they can speak to and with, instead of about (though I can certainly hope that it won't be because of or for the reasons that she had to say those things last night.)
I was so heartened to hear about your stance last Saturday regarding the Armenian Genocide. I am grateful that you finally acknowledged something that our government has been too cowardly and craven to do for years. It felt...good that after so many years America was finally willing to acknowledge a wrong-doing by another country--one that the Armenian people hold dear to their hearts. I am hopeful, too, that by acknowledging their pain and their suffering, we may be able to help them begin to heal from it. Hiding from the truth only hurts us in the end; so, I believe this was incredibly important.
I continue to look forward to all the great work you have planned ahead--from infrastructure to taxes and health care. I have seen your continued dedication and your administration's tireless efforts to work toward a vision of prosperity and hope for our country's people and its future; and while I know that it isn't going to be easy to get people to see beyond their own interests, I am hopeful that they'll be willing to try...eventually.
I got my second vaccination this past Thursday, and am now just waiting out those two weeks until I can safely venture out into the world again. And while I'll still need to don the mask and continue to wash my hands (after all, that's a sound way to stop many diseases,) I'm really looking forward to when I get to visit my parents this summer without the mask. I really, honestly, can't wait. It seems like it's been forever since I felt that way. Relief coupled with hope; excitement coupled with cautious optimism--and that underlying fear that we may be dealing with this for a long time to come. I want to hope, but I also want to have a realistic path moving forward is I guess what I'm trying to say here. Going back to the way things were isn't good for anyone; so, please let's not keep making the same mistakes. I'm pretty okay if we make a few new ones to learn from, though.
April 23, 2021. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)
Last but not least--Earth Day. While it was overshadowed for me by getting my second shot, I've been thinking a lot about how to shift my mindset from a consumer to a protector--from someone who is encouraged by our corporate businesses to discard the old and buy "new new new!" to someone who seeks to buy into companies and ideas that conserve resources instead of merely expending them. I've been considering the idea of the "whole life" of products lately--like what happens to the plastic containers and packaging that house the products that help me to be my best self, and I am thinking that this is something we need to do more of going forward. We shouldn't create waste without knowing how we're going to dispose of it--how it will effect the local and global environment, and we should be encouraging companies that take those kinds of views into consideration rather than just rewarding those who are looking merely to make a short-term profit. Those are responsible things to be doing as protectors and stewards of this world and this life we've been given, and I hope that people will begin to start viewing things that way if our leaders will, too.
And so with that, Mr. President, I think I'll get back to trying to catch up on everything I missed this past weekend while I was taking a bit of a break from the world. I hope your week ahead is a good one, and I'll catch up with you next Sunday. Until then, lead well, be safe, and do the right thing.
~~ Jenni
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