Confession

Confession

I had a really hard time finding the motivation to come out to protest. It's hot, and I was just tired. And I know there are people who have a lot more right to exhaustion than I do. The organizers and so many of the protesters in Portland have been out every night since the murder of George Floyd. In my own community, Carol and the core crew of allies have been out protesting every single day for months, too. And beyond that, the people on whose behalf we are all protesting have endured the oppression we're protesting for 401 years. I don't think I have any right to be tired. But I was. I am. 

And then I had two conversations that inspired me. I got a message from the parent (shout out to Haley) of some former students who attended the high school where I teach. She had come across some folks proclaiming racism doesn't exist and Black Lives Matter is just a Marxist organization. I seriously doubt they know enough about Marxism to understand that anti-capitalism is a part of Black Lives Matter because our late-stage-crony-capitalist system is particularly unjust to people of color. I'll bet they just think "Marxist=Bad." Similarly, I'd bet they've not reflected on the fact that a couple of white people discussing the way they have decided racism doesn't exist and all people of color saying it does are wrong is, itself, proof of their white supremacist thinking. But then I was talking with another friend (shout out to Ally) about how to communicate with anti-maskers, and I admitted I have no idea. Furthermore, I suspect that I'm pretty easy to dismiss for a lot of reasons. It was a reminder of an important distinction I learned a long time ago but am still absorbing: A movement needs organizers and mobilizers. Organizers are people like my friends Ally, Sandra, Joanna, and Mike who can reach out to people who don't agree, meet them where they are, and welcome them patiently into a movement. Mobilizers are people like me who preach to the choir, get folks who already agree activated to get off their couches and hold a sign or cast a vote or call a representative. Organizers are more important. Without organizers, mobilizers don't have anyone to mobilize. But a movement needs both. I'm not going to persuade anyone, but I can do my part, too. So I got my sign and hit the streets. And I'm so glad I did.

Here's something I think a lot of folks don't understand about protesting; it's not about changing the minds of people who disagree. Have you ever seen someone holding a sign and flipped your position on an issue? No? Neither has anyone else. Mostly it's about letting people who agree know that they aren't alone and, when we stand together, we have the ability to make changes. It also puts pressure on political leaders who say, "Whoa! I guess I'd better move this up the priority list." But here's a third thing that a lot of folx miss: It's also about the protester. It changes us. When we march and chant, we renew our commitment to act. Speakers who share enlighten us. And when we stand with signs, it gives us time to reflect and process. As one of the organizers in Portland said, the protesters there have taken the space in front of the justice center and have turned it into a university. The protesters are hearing lectures, receiving assigned reading, bonding around a shared identity, and thinking through the way their new learning will change them as they walk around in the world when they leave that school. 

So come join us sometime if you're able. It's good for you, too! It sure was for me today.