Thursday, July 7, 2016

Loose thoughts after Alton Sterling Died, and then Philando Castile died

I woke up today and it was a little worse than yesterday. I walked toward the train and only saw black men. And I kept saying, in my head, I'm glad you're still alive. And you, I'm glad you're still alive. 

When I lived in India people at home used to say: aren't you scared of getting raped? And when I moved back home, people in India asked me: aren't you scared of getting shot? Yes and yes. Fear is just something I lace my shoes with before I leave the house now. But there are others much more likely than I am to be the victims.

People blame things on the system as if we did not create it with our bare hands, as if we do not perpetuate it with our wallets. As if the machine would still work without all the cogs.

Now that I know there is no limit to our empathy, I think we owe it to the broken limbs on America's body to learn more about the trigger we've collectively pulled hundreds of times. It takes strength to bend the moral arc towards justice.



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