Silence is Violence
- sheliberated
- 19 hours ago
- 2 min read
A very well-meaning Brown-skinned community leader told me recently that, "real revolutionaries move in silence." And while I appreciated the sentiment, I couldn't help but think that silence is a privilege and silence is what got us here in the first place.
For context, these words came as a few liberation advocates and I were shouting near an intersection across from the park where my community hosts free yoga daily. It was Saturday, just slightly past noon, and as people folded up their mats (myself included), we were greeted with the sounds of yelling, “FUCK TRUMP! FUCK ICE!”
My ears perked up. Oh yes, these are my people.
Straight from savasana, with my yoga mat on my shoulder, I walked over to support - and to intervene with an old white man in a “Fuck your feelings” MAGA outfit. Simultaneously, folks were walking to the farmers market across the street, riding their bikes by the ocean, getting massages in a tent just 15 feet away, soaking up the sun, and drinking local green juice.
Wellness all around us. And anger inside of us.
After a few hostile, yet futile moments of back and forth with this man determined to undermine my intelligence and dehumanize women, the leader of the massage tables walked over to chat.
"Is this annoying you?" I thought. Good.
Protests are INHERENTLY disruptive. They're supposed to shake us up from our "business as usual" and draw attention to what needs fixing. If you think this is annoying, imagine how annoying it is to have your car window smashed, get dragged from your vehicle, forcibly held in a detention center - only to be released days later after the racists realize you’re a citizen of their fascist country. Or worse - disappearing from the system completely or deported to a country you haven't set foot on in decades.
Protesting violence feels highly appropriate.
Is screaming at an old white MAGA man my proudest moment? 🤷🏽♀️ No. But I felt safe enough and it's my privilege to do so for everyone who can't. (And frankly, it was cathartic as hell!)
Protesting isn't the only thing I'm doing, of course…
Community organizing
Hosting empowerment groups
Contacting "representatives"
Fundraising for families
Attending grief circles
Voting in every election
Divesting money from companies determined to prevent us from having a livable future
The list goes on...
But one thing I damn sure WON’T do is be silent or tell any of my comrades to shut their mouth.
Black people in this country easily recognize cruelty and state-sponsored brutality. I wonder if maybe there wasn't such silence from some folx after Treyvon Martin, Philando Castile, Sandra Bland, Freddie Gray, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others.... we might still have Keith Porter.
So, with all due respect ma’am, REAL revolutionaries use their voices for change! 📣
--
To support the community's healing this month, I'm giving 15% off site-wide with the code LOVEBLACKPPL - good through the end of February ✊🏽🖤
If you're ready for the next step in your healing journey, let's talk:
Thank you so much for being here.
Remember, while it is a collective fight, our freedom starts from within.
May you have the courage to liberate yourself.
Be well.
💚
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