14 May Hate is Hate
I don’t know hate anymore. I know it exists but I personally have veered away from hateful thoughts, acts, deeds or words. It is a conscious choice I make when I wake up in the morning to be guided by love: loving thoughts, joyful deeds, and a pure heart. I am living in a space that God would have me reside. It is sacred and holy, where solitude has become my best friend and companion. There is a difference between solitude and silence, so do not mistake my silence as acceptance. My heart is ready to fight and my mind will not rest until I speak the truth.
The truth is that recent events: the rising hate crimes against my Muslim and Jewish brothers and sisters, the immigration crackdowns against my Latino family, the passive acceptance of my Black brothers being gunned down on our streets, the abuse towards our LGBTQ family, and the overall systemic violence and acceptance of such behavior by our leaders is unacceptable and intolerable. To lead as such is to cower to fear. My leaders, the likes of Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr., Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Buddha, Pope Francis, and any soul searching for peace and love in their lifetime so they can pass it onto others is who I follow- wholeheartedly.
“There are more kind-hearted souls residing amongst us than the radicalized individuals we have been shown to fear.”
There is more love and good in this world than we are shown in media coverage, social media or whatever means you choose to learn about our community. There are more kind-hearted souls residing amongst us than the radicalized individuals we have been shown to fear. And let me be very clear: terrorism, whether being acted out by a brown skinned being or a white skinned being is still terror.
Radicalization, whether being perpetrated by an infringed minority group in France of Middle Eastern decent or by an infringed minority group of White supremacists in North Carolina is still terror. Let us accept the fact that hate exists in all colors and we shall and need to call it as we see it- hate. Do not categorize Muslim radicalism in a different hierarchy than the KKK. They breed the same behaviors; their missions are the same; they are even indoctrinated using the same techniques; they are choosing hate over love. It is a choice and not some genetic mutation we are born with.
My power, your power, our collective power resides within. No matter what the White House says or accepts, we do not have to agree. We can keep learning about one another, keep evolving towards a greater good, and keep being guided by love and the truth. There is no need to look towards a leader who has lacked the moral compass to guide. That leader is nothing more than a figurehead to me, resembling a bygone era that he insists we must return to as a country, but for the benefit of whom?
This nation, founded on the ideology that “all men are created equal”, is the greatest human experiment in democracy and our will is being tested. To those who incite hate, proclaim their “rights to free speech” and gather to protest, I stand by you. Yes, me: a woman of color, an immigrant, a minority who knows the sting of prejudice, and exclusion from “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.” I stand for your rights to assemble in a peaceful protest and proclaim your White heritage grievances because I know all too well the feeling of being scared, of being exposed to the elements with no protection from the government.
“I do not stand for your ideology; I stand for your rights. There is a difference.”
I do not stand for your ideology; I stand for your rights. There is a difference. The question remains, will you stand for mine? Will you stand for my right to free speech, my right to assemble, my right to healthcare, my right to an education, my right to marry whom I love, my rights to my own body, my rights overall?
We are not so different. Your fear of knowing the “other” is keeping us apart, but take my brown skinned hand, feel the pulse that beats under my wrist, our heart beats will align within minutes to show how truly connected we are under this façade of skin color. The truth is I choose love. I choose to be guided by love; it’s natural and quite euphoric. Please join me.
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