Dear Aunty & Uncle: Let’s Talk About Protests

Dear Aunty & Uncle,

Last time, we talked about Privilege.

Now, some of you may be thinking: “But they’re looting and hurting innocent businesses. Nobody will sympathize with them.”

We don’t expect you all to agree with all of the methods of protesting, but we want you to understand why they’re happening in the first place. Today, let’s talk about PROTESTS.

For my Gujarati Families:

Now that we’ve had some laughs, let’s get a little serious for a moment.

Protests

For the reasons we’ve talked about in previous posts, black people are sick and tired of their family and friends being treated unfairly and dying.

For the first time, all 50 states (and about 20+ countries) have come together for what will probably be the biggest civil rights movement in our history.

And most of these protests are PEACEFUL! Look at all of the different ways that everyone is coming together to support and protect black lives:

Quiet, Beautiful Moments of Protest You Might Have Missed: https://www.msn.com/en-us/Lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/all-the-quiet-beautiful-moments-of-protest-you-might-have-missed/ss-BB14W22J?fbclid=IwAR2MflhH9MYwQw_YOFgLbhKhDVzXRn3gXGhRyJ-4ll34pK39aZgqcJ0_mDs#image=20

“Riots” and Looting

Black people have tried doing everything some people are saying is the “right” way to make change: they started peaceful protests, they donated & supported organizations, they voted and contacted their leaders, they talked about issues at award functions or press conferences, they kneeled at sporting events. BUT:

The world kept ignoring their voices.
Everybody kept dismissing their concerns.
People from their community kept dying.

*They did (and are still doing) all of these things. But nobody listened and no changes were made.*

“Riots” and Looting Are Started for Reasons the News May Not Always Show You

Some people are stealing from companies to make a statement about the unfair distribution of wealth in our country. Some people are destroying property because they are frustrated. Some people are “making noise” because no one listened to their voices before.

And we cannot say what is right or wrong for them to do or say because we do not feel that same level of pain and frustration everyday of our lives.

If it were (among others) Raj, Pooja, or Arjun–instead of George, Breonna, Ahmaud–we would be angry. We would be frustrated. And we wouldn’t want anybody telling us what the right way to react or make change is so that we don’t see Shaan, Priya, or Aryan’s names next.

But in most cases, these actions are not even associated with the peaceful Black Lives Matter protests.

Police Causing Fear and Violence With Peaceful Protestors

Many protests are peaceful, police show their support while the media is around, but then start shooting innocent protestors with rubber bullets, spraying tear gas, or shoving them/starting chaos for just being in their way (while exercising their right to peacefully protest).

Although we don’t see this on whatsapp or the news, this is what sometimes leads to the violence we have been seeing.

Police Spraying Peaceful Protestors:

Innocent, Peaceful Protesters Being Shot with Rubber Bullets by Police: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10107582414517490&set=pcb.10107582422366760&type=3&__tn__=HH-R&eid=ARB6p6Qf3xXKdj7TZ77VeuW8o4o6UZV8MOlYoXC0-O7Rm57QxPs_XyOoVdSFaRcO9sKJOQtJSIEW9WYR

Police Ruining a Medic Station for Protestors:

BLM Supporters Stopping Looters and Violent People

Many people who start looting or riots are outside people, white supremacist groups, or undercover cops trying to frame the protestors as being violent. And BLM supporters try to stop them from ruining their peaceful efforts.

Black people are not looking for us to sympathize with them because:

We will never fully understand why kneeling is not disrespectful, but empowering.
We will never truly understand why making statements at sporting events or award shows is more important than enjoying entertainment “without interruption.”
We will never truly understand the need to risk our lives in the middle of a pandemic (that is killing us more than anyone else) to fight against police brutality (which is also killing us more than anyone else).

So nobody is looking for our sympathy or for us to understand. They’re looking for empathy. For us to stand by and listen to other humans’ stories. For us to see how they face cruel and unjust treatment for simply breathing in our country.

As people who may feel uncomfortable with these things, we are privileged. We may think they’re making a big deal out of everything because we don’t experience it ourselves. But our life is not everyone’s reality.

How can we be okay with sitting in the comfort of our own homes, protected, watching the news (which we know is not always accurate), never knowing anybody unfairly killed by police and tell people who are constantly losing their sons, daughters, moms and dads what the right or wrong thing to do or say is to create change?

The big stores we love to go to for sales have insurance. They will definitely be fine.
Most of our family businesses have insurance. We will work with our community to regrow.
Small local businesses are getting the support they need from their communities and GoFundMes. Slowly, they will rebuild.

But black people cannot even step into these stores without fear.
Black people are not given the support and resources they deserve to grow and rebuild.
Black people are losing their lives. They are NOT fine, and that is what we want you to understand.

Thank you again for your willingness to learn and listen! These images and videos were probably a lot, but it’s just to show you different sides of the story that you may see on the news or read about on whatsapp. And look at some of the changes these different actions have already led to: https://www.instagram.com/p/CBDWk6GgLfx/ This is why we cannot stop what our whole world has come together for.💕