Existence Is Not a Political Difference

I have been debating writing anything since yesterday.

What do I matter? Who am I to say anything at all?

I am but a singular voice in a crowded room.

But I decided why not share some of what I am thinking just because I think to stay true to the name I gave this substack—about that though— I might interject some thoughts about…well that.

About Yesterday

Yesterday two tragic events happened within minutes of each other. One you surely heard about, the other went almost invisible. There was yet ANOTHER school shooting yesterday in America.

This has to stop happening. It just has to. But gun activists continue the misconstrued analysis of the 2nd Amendment and say it just HAS to be that way.

Speaking of—

The other news you more likely heard about was the killing of Charlie Kirk.

Killing and violence is wrong ALWAYS. Let me repeat that.

Killing and violence is wrong ALWAYS.

What happened to him should not happen to anyone and I feel for his family and most of all his innocent children. It is just so sad and heartbreaking to think about their unimaginable loss.

But-

The response is what has been hurting so much since last night and this morning.

Yesterday professional sports teams took time out to honor him.

Congress stopped.

The President ordered flags at “half mast” (quotes because he is still too uneducated to know the difference between mast and staff) across the country.

I am old enough to remember, this past January when the President didn’t want flags at half-staff for Jimmy Carter…a former President and veteran.

I am also old enough to remember this June when the Speaker of the General Assembly of Minnesota and her husband were gunned down and another legislator (who I know and have worked with a ton) was shot as well— no professional sports teams honored them. Flags weren’t lowered.

What changed?

And THIS is where my pain arises.

People were quick to decry and bemoan political violence. As they should. Political violence has no place in our country…or Gaza…or Sudan.. Why is it suddenly a problem or a discussion now?

My pain comes from what it says about us and who we stand for. In a lot of ways it seems that people feel this as an attack on them and whatever because of what he stood for and him being a ‘champion of free speech.’

It hurts because I think about the civil rights leaders and activists taken down each day pushing for equality and human rights. Where are the thinkpieces on them? Will the Yankees pause the game if someone fighting for those who are often stepped on is killed? No, they won’t.

It hurts because I have dedicated my life to doing what is right to uplift people and support causes that recognize the humanity we share not the opinions we hold. But that isn’t what is valued anymore.

Here is just a small sample of what was supported or shared by the deceased—

This is stuff from like ONE WEEK of recordings.

I see so many posts talking about how we cannot condone political violence and we should respect others with different political views.

Again, I agree.

I have good friends who are republicans. I have voted for republicans (gasp!!)

But here is where I have an issue.

What he says was NOT a political view. My existence, my humanity, is NOT A POLITICAL VIEW. My family and people I love are not political views. They are people. And what many are calling political views really hurts internally because it is affirmation to me, and others like me, that to many of you we still are not people. We are things, objects, views to be held and liked or disliked. And the people who fail to see the difference are so many so-called “allies” and that is disheartening and scary.

The same thing with so many people I know who are very strong in their faith. They have been very silent in the suffering of others but in this instance want to quote scripture.

I was raised in the church. Four days a week raised in the church. I went to white Pentecostal church and in the same week went to Black AME Zion and Baptist churches. I served as a youth leader.

Hatred of others is not Christ like. It never was, never will be. So to claim that these things, this dismissal of those unlike you as part of your faith, miss me with that because I learned the bible a long time ago and that is not in there.

This hurts because it reiterates who has a life that matters and who does not. I, unfortunately, do not matter.

And the quick embrace of one view of what transpired is a furtherance of white supremacy.

A litany of attacks have happened on other people— here are a few

Those things happened but they happened to people who did something to challenge white supremacist ideas and rhetoric, yes even Mike Pence who stood up to the unlawful challenge to Black votes being counted in the attempt to overthrow the government. When his actions were not in line with the mob, his value was also cast aside. But when someone, again wrongly, goes after someone who stokes hatred in service of white supremacy and says they won’t fly with a Black pilot or let ‘Joqueesha Jones’ ever be their surgeon— and we don’t know the motive yet because there has not been anyone caught. It is a threat to free speech.

Look—this is too long but as I type this HBCUs around the country are being threatened by…white supremacists. Today many have had to cancel classes and go on lockdown, because now people are targeting Black universities.

This hurts because it further shows that to many, some of our humanity is an inconvenience to you that can be written off as a political view…and that just burns.