Dear Candace Owens,
and to all those who are using her video as a way to remove yourself from the conversation taking place in the world right now, and to those truly ready for changes.
With this letter I want to encourage you all to engage with the WHY. We can see clearer together.
Candace Owens, you have a unique perspective everyone should allow themselves to hear. If for no other reason than to gain another vantage point. With that said you too show evidence of the effects of systemic racism. The fact that you choose to wear your hair straightened tells me that you feel more attractive viewing yourself and being viewed through the lens of a European beauty standard. A black woman who harbors no self hate and understands the implications of straightening her hair to assimilate aesthetically into white America will wear her hair naturally, in the multitude of ways that it is possible. Also, it is known that throughout history there is always a portion of oppressed people who are so disturbed in their psyche over the pain their oppressor has inflicted that they willingly and unconsciously defend and or justify any belief the oppressor has. They do this in order to avoid them or their loved ones from being tortured.
Candace, you are speaking from a shadow, a spell that all of black America is under. This spell is a direct result of systemic racism programmed into our psyche. I understand your need to find acceptance amongst white conservatives. We all have softened ourselves to fit into the social constructs that have bound us for centuries. I myself have softened myself in order to survive encounters with the police in America. The fact is your arguments do not address the WHY but rather the WHAT of this revolution.
What: George Floyd was an ex con, police are more likely to be killed by a black man than to kill black men, doctors kill more people than police do.
All of these are not dealing with the WHY.
WHY: Why were my grandparents forced to drink from a water fountain labeled colored? Why was I taught that my ancestors were slaves and nothing else in high school? Why was Martin Luther King killed for leading peaceful protests? These are all reasons why the world is upset at this moment.
With your unique alliance with conservative white America you could be a powerful leader illuminating the conservative vantage point to all of America with grace. Inspiring healing and unity. Instead you seem to have chosen to virtue signal by pointing out negative pocket dimensions that resonate with the shameful perspective of the oppressor.
For example: By using your voice to bring attention to the number of deaths that occur by police vs the amount of deaths that occurs by doctors each year you do not negate the WHY of the oppressed. You simply forgot to mention the demographic affected most by deaths due to negligence by doctors, black women during childbirth. Regardless, this is a diversion from the meditation on America’s historical disregard for black lives. This is all distracting from the fundamental fact that there is a subconscious program running in the world that favors the idea of white over the idea of black. You only have to look at the universal acceptance of the “flesh colored” band aid to understand how deep the programming is ingrained in us all. From that space, civilizations and societies have been erected. Racism is baked into the foundation of western civilization. America needs an exorcism Candace.
This is a centuries old plea for justice and understanding that is making many of you uncomfortable for a reason. It will be painful at times but that pain is only proportional to the level of shame and guilt you may hold. This is an opportunity for us all to heal those spaces within us. This is a chance to think with our hearts.
I do agree that George Floyd may not have been a model citizen. But in my humble opinion, the evidence that Candace gives is a deflection from the real issue and circumstances we have the opportunity to explore. It speaks immediately to her insecurity with the root of the topic. Which is systemic racism.
We did not “CHOOSE” him to be our “Hero” as Candace says in the video. He is not my hero. As the most recent example of the egregious injustice in America that too often occurs at the hands of law enforcement against people of color. George Floyd has become a symbol of police brutality, systemic racism, implicit bias, social and criminal injustice in America and beyond. A symbol of the frustration of people of color world wide who have suffered at the hand of colonization and its subsequent physical and psychological oppression. This is because of the momentum of the shifting zeitgeist to catalyze this moment. To create policy, economic and perceptual changes that are long overdue. That is his role in the collective unconscious now a symbol, a catalyst.
Indigenous people worldwide have suffered in the name of the “progress” of western civilization. Few countries Im aware of have owned their history of genocide and oppression with the exception of South Africa and Canada.
There are billions of victims and offspring of institutionalized racism and oppression on earth. They all have their stories, their history and their trauma. This trauma manifests in many ways. As creativity, alcoholism, drug addiction, depression, mental health issues , aggression and apathy to name a few. All phenomena, whether good or bad, occurring in black communities can be traced back to the effects of this trauma. Good, for example being the creative movement to grow urban gardens in empty lots. Bad, for example being the black on black crime rooted in scarcity and masculine insecurity.
These victims of oppression will use this moment to their advantage intuitively and consciously. To create a space to be heard and to heal. This is evident in the protest culture itself which can be mistaken for a culture that moves in complete solidarity with the same actions, intentions and goals in mind. Some come out to protest peacefully, others see an opportunity to loot, still others will use the space to further their loosely related political agendas with violence and destruction. It is impossible to separate these arms of emotion from the flow of energy that fuels a revolution.
We did not choose George Floyd to be killed during a pandemic that held every American indoors to contemplate what is essential and what purpose their lives held. Who knows, perhaps if 80% of the world had not been glued to social media over the last 3 months in search of connection and distraction from their own existential crisis, the reaction to his killing may not have had the impact that it is having. If Breonna Tyler was the most recent victim of police brutality, and perhaps was a MAN, maybe she would be the subject of discussion and the “Hero” in Candaces’ video.
In many ways George is a microcosm of America itself. Big, strong, forbidding, troubled, intimidating, slightly sedated, confused, crude, with a history of violence and an addiction to distractions. America is showing the same evidence of generational trauma as people of color are. There is a reason there is resistance to this conversation. It does affect everyone.
We have to remember, there have been thousands of cases such as this over a span of more than 100 years since slavery ended. Many of those killed by implicit racial bias were not “High on amphetamines” . In the case of Breonna Taylor, an award winning EMT, she was shot 8 times in her own home while watching TV just 1 month prior to Floyds murder. The police officers had the wrong address for a drug raid. Breonna is entering the conversation now. Not because she was black and wanted to be killed in that way, but because she was black and was killed in that way. Also, because there has yet to be any action taken for this fatal mistake. The police who killed Breonna Taylor have not been fired or charged in any way. I assure you Candice will not comment on Breonnas’ status as a martyr or “Hero”.
America has a problem. A part of the solution is to extract the gross elements from the essential elements and see the world your neighbors actually live in. Systemic racism is not a perception, it’s a pillar of this country. It is time to look at it. To feel into it, to dance with it, to absorb the real history of this country and the world. That’s all, simply look at it and possibly see yourself for the first time in the context of a cloaked epidemic that literally colors our reality.
Yes, Candace, I do agree that black America has had many excuses for why they are not getting ahead. Mindset can be cultivated for purpose and success. But, the truth is many of those excuses are valid. Those excuses that are imaginary are rooted in the trauma of living in this antique America and need empathy to heal and overcome. Some do overcome at all costs, but they are rare. The point being why should I need to overcome the trauma and push so hard to thrive in a country that hunts me. That defeated knowing, that apathy is not an excuse for not achieving success, it is a byproduct of being abused psychologically and physically daily for hundreds of years.
Revolutions occur when stagnant energy is brought into awareness. Revolution is a direct result of realizing that our society is sick. When these windows of collective clarity occur we can not take for granted that they will trigger many that have found a comfort in that stagnant legacy. They may not have the same awareness and perspective as the revolution because their interests and values have aligned them elsewhere.
Stumbling narratives like the one Ms. Owens gave are a testament to the sputtering momentum of the old paradigm. There is not much left to burn or grab a hold of. It no longer makes sense to skip over this portal for change in order to preserve what has brutalized so many around the world. Those who are not willing to recognize the revolution that occurs within themselves when they witness injustice or mass movement are working very hard to hold onto the old paradigm. Their psyche will not withstand this betrayal of their soul for much longer.
In order to answer a question you will have to ask the question. If you are not in the vicinity of the question the answer will never make sense to you. This is the nature of ignorance. Ignoring the issues that give rise to the question will cause one to ignore any semblance of the answer.
Whatever side of the question you land on you must be careful not to fall into this trap of ignoring the other in order to refine your own position. What a wonderful chance we have to learn something new. Engagement won’t kill us but ignorance will.
Sincerely,
Marcus Gray