Three articles have touched me over the last few days. Mostly because they seemed to have crawled into my subconscious and pulled out my own voice which has been quiet lately. Quiet because so many recent events have deeply frustrated and saddened me.
From the shooting of unarmed black teenager Michael Brown to political, religious, and medical unrest all over the world. My voice is gone and has been replaced with a hoarseness that squeaks âIâm tiredâ.
Tired of feeling helpless and not knowing what to do and how to help. But these articles below came at just the right time to help articulate how Iâve been feeling the last few daysâŠ
Affected – Karen Walrond, Chookooloonks
Excerpt- âFriends, the truth is, I’m tired. I’m tired of turning on the news and seeing a story of some unarmed black person gunned down or otherwise killed, and being horrified, but even more horrifically, not all that surprised.  I have never faced that sort of violent hostility in my life, and I would never intend to imply that anything I’ve ever experienced even comes close.  But I’ve faced enough … racial skepticism, I guess you could call it, so that these stories sadly never surprise me.â
In the aftermath of the shooting, Karenâs piece was one of the first I read that truly seemed to communicate exactly what I was feeling. Poignantly articulated, I too feel her tiredness and angst about this racial skepticism we always seem to face. Iâve faced it all my life and still battle against it within an industry which ironically is supposed to be one of the most open-minded of all.
It also reminds me of these U2 lyrics from one of my favorite songs, Crumbs from Your Table – âWhere you live should not decide whether you live or whether you die.â
Taking it one step further, the color of your skin should not decide whether you live or whether you die.
Whereâs the dream? â Pam Mandel, Nerdâs Eye View
Excerpt â âWhen I read about Ferguson, I find myself thinking of a friend who, on first glance, is a strapping black dude. Heâs over six feet tall and heâs muscled. In certain geographical regions and inside certain small minds, this is enough to categorize my friend as a threat. Heâs big. Heâs black. Therefore, in some places, heâs a crime waiting to happen. This is some racist bullshit.â
Blunt. Direct. I loved this piece by Pam. Looking a certain way shouldnât automatically classify you as a danger waiting to happen. I know some of the smallest people who can hop on your back and violently take you down within a second, and I know some of the biggest teddy bears out there. I loved how Pam called it like it is. Racist bullshit.
In between the moving parts, we write â Leigh Shulman, The Future is Red
Excerpt â âI have reached a certain acceptance. I stop thinking of each piece as an interruption to the last but see them as pieces of a whole. This is my life. There is nothing here that I didnât choose. There is nothing that doesnât bring me joy as long as I refuse to allow competing priorities to rob me of the beauty of each.
When I sit with Charlie howling, I am there one hundred percent. When writing, I block out the world with music and headphones. A tap on the shoulder calls me onto the next thing. Itâs requires extreme effort to refocus my attention with each shift. I try not to worry, try to eradicate frustration and doubt. How? Practice, force of effort, perhaps a lowering of standards.â
I wanted to give Leigh a tight hug after reading this piece. Because I could relate to every single paragraph she wrote. Weâre both full time freelancers with families and children. And I love her full  transparency in this piece as well. About how sheâs currently balancing it all with a newly minted baby. I wish more superwomen were truly transparent about their behind-the-scenes so they don’t keep setting impossible standards that others see and try to emulate.
After having my daughter, I wrote this blog post about why Iâd never embrace that impossible title of superwoman again. I donât need to prove anything to anyone anymore.
I just need to keep living my own truth according to my own standards.
–
Other articles worth reading below:
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â A Motherâs White Privilege â Manic Pixie Dream Mama.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Bloom of Cancer â Amy Gigi Alexander
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Whatâs Wrong With â1,000 Places to See Before You Dieâ? â Robert Reid
Have you read any powerful articles lately? Please share them with me below. Thanks!
I understand the outrage, and I am definitely over all this doom and gloom on the daily news, but why is this story receiving so much outrage when the story I am about to post here isn’t receiving any attention anywhere? We all should be outraged, no matter what our race is, by the fact that people are being shot down in the streets for no apparent reason!
Why isn’t the media covering the killing of an unarmed white youth by a black police officer?
http://theweek.com/article/index/267088/speedreads-why-isnt-the-media-covering-the-killing-of-an-unarmed-white-youth-by-a-black-police-officer
The case of Michael Brown, the unarmed, black teenager shot and
killed by a white police officer, continues to make headlines weeks
after the incident sparked riots and outrage in Ferguson, Missouri, and
prompted a national debate.
Meanwhile, the case of Dillon Taylor, an unarmed, white 20-year-old
shot and killed by a black policeman outside a 7-Eleven in Utah has
received virtually no media coverage beyond local news reports.
The negligible coverage of the Taylor case by the mainstream media
prompted many conservative critics to address the racial double
standard. The Washington Times
reports: “Talk-show host Rush Limbaugh blamed the discrepancy between
the two cases on ‘the liberal world view’ that portrays whites as
oppressors and blacks as victims.”
The Times noted that CNN news host Jake Tapper acknowledged
the discrepancy between the two cases, and noted that “the press often
undercovers such topics as inner-city violence and the high rates of
black-on-black crime.”
According to Tapper, though, the Brown case is more newsworthy
because of the national reaction it sparked, though some question
whether the excessive media coverage of the violent protests actually
served to fuel them. – – Teresa Mull
@dizzymoe33:disqus – I completely understand your concern and we should all be outraged when someone unarmed is gunned down regardless of race. This is certainly not a numbers game but over the last month alone, the percentage of unarmed black men that have been gunned down by the police has been usually high and that’s what is raising a lot of valid concerns. Why?
The following comments aren’t directed specifically at you but I’m now talking generally…
There are some things that just can’t be explained to people who have never truly experienced racism on a deep level. They never have to worry about being profiled or pulled aside just because of the color of their skin or being followed around a store or getting served the worst meals in the restaurant. White people can open-carry a gun into an establishment and claim their amendment rights but when a black person does the same, they are automatically arrested.
It’s extremely difficult to explain this to people who won’t even admit that white privilege exists and that the color of one’s skin in this world today still determines the level of treatment they’re naturally given.
Conservative media always selectively quotes black-on-black violence without quoting white-on-white or even white-on-black violence. The media plays a very dangerous role in the way they portary information and facts to people who aren’t willing to question everything and do their own due diligence in the large scheme of the world.
I’m sorry but I don’t get my news from the likes of Rush Limbaugh. His view of the world is too limited, restrictive, and prejudiced for me.
This issue is a lot more complex that I can explain or try to address in a few paragraphs on my blog but until people truly accept and admit that, you know what, I am white and unfortunately for others, but fortunately for me, that comes with some privileges in life, then this debate will continue to exist and people will continue to talk in circles.
When you get a chance, please read this powerful piece from a white writer – http://www.rogerebert.com/mzs/what-white-privilege-really-means-an-anecdote
Unfortunately, different rules in life still continue to apply based on the color of one’s skin.
I do understand the different “treatments/rules” based on race. And FYI, I can’t stand Rush Limbaugh either! I just wanted to bring to light as well that we, Citizens of this planet, should be outraged by all that is currently happening in our world. I do agree racism is everywhere and many people walk around with their heads in the sand hoping it will all just go away. I wasn’t attempting to belittle/disregard what happened Michael Brown, I was wanting to shed light from a different view of things. The media drives me crazy there is no such thing as journalism with integrity anymore, it is all about the “shock value” now what will get the people to tune in and buy those newspapers. Unfortunately as long as their are “Social Classes” in our society there will always be racism. Until people can stand up and realize that “I” am no better or worse than the person to my right and my left of me, the problems will continue.
I completely understand Monica and thanks so much for bringing an objective view into the situation as well. The media is the US is appalling and those of us watching from across the pond are just mystified as to what the US calls news. It really is all about “shock value”.
And I love your last statement – “Until people can stand up and realize that “I” am no better or worse than the person to my right and my left of me, the problems will continue.”
So true!
Thank you Lola.
Thank you so much Jarrod! I really appreciate it.
Lola,
Read your post yesterday and thought, “Yeah….(sigh)” and it’s stuck with me. I feel similar…a sort of hopelessness that the more I know about how the world works. the less I want to know. Hard when we know we’ve brought kids into this world whose futures may be less than ours. And, like you, the deeper an issue affects me, the less I can say about it. This Ferguson issue maddens me to hell and I’m tracking it all day, but there doesn’t seem to be any direct way to get involved/change things, except hoping that the people, the cops, our government, will find peace, do the right thing, and that some responsibility will be taken (cops should all be fired!). And now ISIS…
Re: the Superwoman ideal…I found the same thing after I had kids…I had no idea the job was so demanding. Kids need you. They just do. And it took years before my mind (which had heretofore been driven, ambitious, creative, outgoing) slowed down enough to acknowledge the truth of the position I had gladly taken, but accepted with conflict…Along the way there was disappointment, shame, rage, GUILT (tons), even fear I wouldn’t live into the standards or goals I’d set for myself – that I would be bounced from the trajectory I was on.
Things shake out in the end…kids relax their need for you (though that comes with its own sense of let down) and you get more work done later. At the end of the day, being here for family and doing everything I can around the edges of that is what matters most. The professional in me still has trouble accepting that sometimes, but like you I have a wonderful spouse who allows me the freedom to grow. QuĂ© serĂĄ, serĂĄ, you know?
Wishing you the best and may we both wash this negativity out of our systems and find ways to contribute to the good in this world.
If you want to talk motherhood challenges anytime, I am here.
Hugs, xo
Laura
Soooo great to hear from you Laura! And thank you so much for your insights and sharing your experiences as well. Your words right here absolutely moved me:
“Re: the Superwoman ideal…I found the same thing after I had kids…I had no idea the job was so demanding. Kids need you. They just do. And it took years before my mind (which had heretofore been driven, ambitious, creative, outgoing) slowed down enough to acknowledge the truth of the position I had gladly taken, but accepted with conflict…Along the way there was disappointment, shame, rage, GUILT (tons), even fear I wouldn’t live into the standards or goals I’d set for myself – that I would be bounced from the trajectory I was on.”
Love, love, love it! Thanks so much for putting it in a wider context as well.
Hugs and love
Hey Lola,
Thank you for including me in this. I’m in some fantastic company, not to mention how much I enjoyed reading the posts.
I’m sorry you’ve been tired to voicelessness. The news is heavy, heavy these days. Each day it seems to get worse. I appreciate that sometimes it’s nice to just curl up into a cocoon with my little baby and block things out.
And thank you. Your reaction to my writing is the biggest compliment I could want. I’d love to give you a big hug, too.
Thank you so much Leigh! For your support and for giving a voice to many moms in similar situations. Always love catching up with you!
Love this. ADORE the image. And very grateful to you for the shout-out.
Hang in there, my sister.
K.
Thanks for being inspiring as always Karen!