Hey Steemians. I haven't gotten around to posting my first post, my intro yet. I've been having too much fun getting to know the site. But amidst all that's been happening I wanted to share this article.
I've got a lot of friends and colleagues asking me what I think about what's going on in America right now, particularly because I'm uniquely positioned when it comes to the white nationalist movement. You see, I'm half American and half German. On my American side, I'm black. On my German side, I'm white. All of the men on my American side served in the military. As far as I know, my relatives on my German side had nothing to do with the war. My oldest living relatives, my grandparents, were born at the end of the war. As many did in their generation, they questioned their elders and asked them how they could let something like the Holocaust happen.
When I look at what happened in Charlottesville, Virginia it seems as if I'm glimpsing into another reality. I grew up in Germany, going to school on American military bases. At 18 I went to Richmond, Virginia for university. I went up to C-ville a few times and had amazing experiences that opened my mind. The quality of nature there alone was like the peaceful haven you see in fantasy movies. The people, friendly, warm, and open-minded.
And then hate, carrying tiki-torches, descended upon the tranquil town, and all went to hell. Our president, as usual, failed to say what was needed. Many even dressed like him in the marches. Where hate marched, violence followed.
And so people have asked me what I thought about everything, as if I was in a position to make sense of it all.
All I could say? Business as usual in the USofA.
The only time I like to open my mouth is if I have solutions, and I didn't really have any. What could be done about these groups? Deep down we know that they are letting fear get the best of them. Often times I thought I wouldn't, that I couldn't have anything to do with the whole matter. They needed to do some serious soul searching, some serious inner work, I thought to myself. Protests against them only seemed to anger them even more.
Then I found this article.
https://tinyurl.com/yan8jfw4
About a black man who befriends KKK members. He goes to their rallies. He eats with them in their homes. And he just gets to know them. Without encouraging them to leave the clan, eventually many of these people he's befriended have left on their own.
So I think to myself, what can we do about these types of groups? Well, here is an example of exactly what we can do. Without expressing hate or fear ourselves, without letting our blood boil or engage in violence with these groups, this is what we can do. One person at a time, we can seek understanding with these people who have let fear into their hearts. One person at a time we can show them there is nothing to fear.
As always, feel free to share.