Thread by @johnniejae

We need to talk. When I call folks out or talk about injustice, I do not do so to hurt or ruin, nor do I want anyone to be hurt or ruined, even if they have hurt me or engaged in behaviors that hurt others.

I do so because I want accountability. I want justice. I want people to be able to grow, to do and be better. I also don't expect instantaneous change because we didn't get to where we are right now overnight, we didn't become the people we are overnight.

But that being said, when people engage in harmful behaviors whether it was their intent or not, I do expect them to stop the moment they are informed even if they don't necessarily understand or get it at the moment. It hurts no one to just stop, listen and learn.

it's actually the best thing you can do because Racism and other oppressive systems have been so normalized that we all breathe them in as easily as we do air but then it takes work for us to recognize them, to start unlearning and untangling ourselves from those systems

& work takes effort, work means that we have to know what to do and what to put our effort into and that's always a little hard because it also means that we have to be honest with ourselves and that honesty means we will have to confront & reconcile with uncomfortable truths

and that's hard for us because not a single one of us wants to believe or admit that we are capable of being shitty human beings, of engaging in harmful systems that go against what we believe we stand for or learn that we what we believe in, what we have been taught is toxic AF.

But it is what it is and in order for us to create a better world, to really be the people we believe we are or be the people we believe we can be....we have to confront those truths and realities. And it doesn't mean that any of us are inherently bad or evil.

It just means we have a lot of work to do, a lot of healing and making amends with each other in order to create a more equitable and just world for all of us.

I see Trump trying to vilify efforts to create racial justice and equality as un-American propaganda, to vilify efforts to create a more nuanced and accurate account of our histories rather than depending on a sanitized history of exceptionalism.

And it's kind of sad because we are human beings. Our histories are messy, we are messy and the history of this nation is messy as shit and our current realities are messy as shit and for good reason...because we want more, we want better. We want life, liberty & justice for all.

But alas....there are those who don't want better for anyone but themselves, those who seek power above all else and those who seek only to consume and destroy.

That's the reality and there's is nothing....absolutely nothing wrong about speaking those truths. There is nothing wrong with wanting people to be held accountable for their actions and their words. There is nothing wrong about wanting better, not only for ourselves but EVERYONE

And that is what we're working for....we do not seek to ruin or destroy. We seek to build, empower and heal.

We seek to Thrive.