What’s Been Going On In My Head

A friend and I had a convo last week about things that were or were not Facebook appropriate. I’m not sure this will fit the mold, so I wrote a blog.

Now that the election is over, I want you to think about something the next time you want to discredit a candidate. I want you to think about who they represent and the privileges said represented don’t have that you do. Think, just for a second, about the fact even if your w-2’s and socio-economic status’ were identical, because of what you look like, you haven’t certain privileges that they don’t, that I don’t.

Being a mom changes you and I realized that, more than ever this voting season. I have to do what I can at the polls to ensure justice for my child. Some of you will never understand and some if you may think that simply raising children with love is enough. (Note: to those of you who have expressed undying love for unborn child, I appreciate that and not disregarding it.) I used to. That was until I saw the utter heartbreak of wives and moms that looked like me mourning the loss of their mercilessly slain spouses and children, who looked like mine. I cried with them, not just for them because that could be my reality. Heartbreak. Pain. Suffering. No justice.

While you go about your daily task and walk through this life with joy, those women, their friends and families have no rest. They have a battle to fight with no weapons. I just can’t ignore that anymore. I can’t exclude myself from being aware anymore.

I have many friends that literally can not wait until our President is out of office. I’ve definitely had that feeling with other presidents, so please don’t think I’m disregarding or discrediting their political stances. I’m not. Again, I’m asking you to think about who our President represents. Despite running a country with the most ineffective and expensive health care system, a country where education is after-thought and our children are suffering, a country where its people of both dying of starvation and over-eating, he continues the work for who he represents. I’m not going to get into my voting record and political party-affiliation (as if I haven’t put enough of myself out there), but I’m sorry if he doesn’t represent you. Really, I am.

But what you should know is he represents me, more than ever now because, in addition to giving my child a more even play field to children in other countries, he is the one of the few that want justice for those slain children and some type of peace for those that mourn them. (Please don’t think or say anything asinine like “That’s not a reason to vote for someone” Duh! I got that. Just read and understand where I’m coming from. This is about thought process and changing said thought processing before you speak.)

Do I want to think this morbidly about my child’s life? No! But I would be ignorant if I did not grasp how much of a reality that could be. Do I want to think about that one parent who will ask her child to play with anyone but my son simply because she doesn’t understand enough about his skin-tone not to be afraid. Not at all, but I have to. Do I want think about the day when I see the innocence dim from my child’s eyes when we explain to him how he is ‘different’ and thus will have to behave differently in situations than friends that don’t look like him? Nope. Not one bit but I have to. Am I just chomping at the pervious bit to teach my child about extending tolerance that isn’t extended to him…you get the jist…

Now, for those of you who don’t have this problem, who have the privilege of not dealing with the above, I’m not condemning you. In not mad at you. I just want you to have the option to have some more clarity. You can read this and then proceed with life as usual, or you can read this and have no choice but to think a little before you speak from your vantage point of privilege. That’s my whole purpose-giving you just enough information to choose how you want to think.