My Reflections about the Insurrection
Last week, depraved people stormed the United States Capitol without repercussion. They had the freedom to bear arms without fear. They were able to wear derogatory clothing as a badge. They expressed their freedom of speech while terrorizing folks who were doing their job. Their actions were to intimidate lawmakers so that they could have the leader they desired even though said leader lost the election.
The events of last week all sound surreal. The extreme ignorance and evilness were on another level. A level that until the moment it had occurred, I had not considered it to be an option. I am left disappointed, frustrated, and speechless. I have no desire to behave or exhibit behaviors like those at the Capitol, but it says a lot when White people can bear arms publicly at a federal building. At the same time, Black men are murdered after disclosing that they have a firearm in a routine traffic stop. Young Black girls are kicked out of school because our hairstyles are too much and too distracting and too-whatever-folks- in-power-at-the-moment decide. Black boys are shot dead for playing with toy guns in public spaces. Black women are treated as trash thrown out when our voices become too loud, too strong, too truthful for what a fragile society can handle. My people have marched and shouted for many years to have our most fundamental rights met in a country that chooses not to see our pain.
Some may wonder why she is making it a Black and White thing when it is something that impacted the country as a whole. The way I experience life in this country is through a lens of my Blackness, and when I witness wickedness on such a grand level, I cannot help but wonder, "What would have happened if those people were Black?" This country has always told us that Black was and is bad. Here is the thing I know what would have happened if those people were Black. They would not have made it past the steps of the Capitol. Guards would have met them ready to protect and serve instead of having their plans taken lightly.
I do not feel indignation because this country never intended to treat us fairly. My existence is an afterthought if it is even a thought at all.
After witnessing, outright foolishness with my eyes, I hate to know that there will still be ones who will proudly say, "It's not that bad. It was a one-time thing. We are more than this." I counter it with that they are also most likely the ones who came from a lineage who proudly packed up their lunches and kids to grab a good seat as men with a hue like mine gave their last breaths hanging from a tree.
As I think about this country and government, I have to remind folks that it is not all that you have imagined it to be, especially if you have imagined it to be some glorious savior. The government cannot save man from our heart issues. It cannot protect us from people who choose to do wrong and harm us. The government of this country does not have a heart or feelings. It is a power that has not come down to live as we do. It has not fought the many temptations in this world, but instead, it leans into whatever feels right at the moment by whoever is navigating the levers.
I cannot afford to depend on this government to do only what Yahweh can, so I pray for His will to be done. I seek His face, and I hope.
