Damn. September, you’re here already? Time flies when you’re having fun I guess. I hope you all had a kick ass summer, Lord knows I did! For me, it has been a summer of growth and I appreciated every bit of it. I got a spot for just me n’ Ollie, read a lot, wrote a lot, made new friends, and oh ya, started this blog! I know I’ve been silent for the last few weeks however I’ve been trying to piece together this post. I’m not gonna lie, it was super difficult because my mind was going a million places. But I think I’ve finally narrowed it down. This post will be political and you may not agree with the topic. So… I’m challenging you to be open-minded and provide feedback to me directly or leave a comment about what you think! Here goes nothin’…

What do you think of when you see or hear, “America” or “The United States”? I personally think of a few things: Freedom, democracy, bald eagles, beer, and the Team America theme song. Never do I think of oppression, racism, or bigotry. That is up until this year… I personally have seen and felt a shift in our American society/culture. Granted, racism has been a concern for generations, we have brought it back to the surface. For example, look at what took place in Charlottesville. (A civil rights activist Heather Heyer was killed when a car drove into a group of people protesting against some white nationalists.) Our president pointed the blame at both the nationalists and those who were on the opposing side. I personally was upset and didn’t understand why he wouldn’t disapprove of the nationalists actions or what they represent. Luckily, I wasn’t the only one that had the same concerns.

Nope, a little group within the United Nations (UN) seemed to have similar sentiments and luckily stepped in. The UN’s Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) sent this warning out: The Trump administration needs to “unequivocally and unconditionally” reject discrimination. So, who is the CERD and what does this mean? Well, within the UN there is a committee that tackles racism and issued this “early warning”.   These types of statements are typically issued by the UN committee in hopes of eliminating racial discrimination over fears of religious or ethnic conflict. Basically, they want Trump to say that what they did isn’t tolerable and make them an example. To bring in some more perspective, in the last 10 years, the committee has only issued 6… Yes, 6 of these warnings. The other countries that received them are: Nigeria, Burundi, Iraq, Ivory Coast, and Kyrgyzstan. Clearly, we are in good company… (I’m being sarcastic).

Keep in mind that these countries didn’t just become shitty overnight; nope it took time to make it terrible. With that being said, I do not want to point the finger solely at Trump however he is exposing things that have been deflected, suppressed, or denied for some time. In just 8 months Trump and his administration let the racism and social issues surface. Trump more or less justified their behavior by not denouncing it.  He is as guilty as a lot of are for just letting things happen. This is the shit that makes me nervous. I hope that Trump and his administration understand that a country’s well-being isn’t just solely influenced by economic or military statuses, there is also the culture which if affected negatively can topple a nation. Ugh.. Man, I hope that’s not what they are going for here.. Okay back to the topic. 

I think that we can prevent this from getting worse by looking to our neighbor across the pond, the United Kingdom (UK). During their exit from the European Union (Brexit), they had similar authority issues which resulted in a rise in hate crimes. The UK reported out that their recorded hate crimes went up 1oo% within months following the Brexit. I can’t help but see the parallels between our countries… There isn’t any coincidence that making America great again, unavoidably involves wanting to steal back whatever little space was surrendered to equality and diversity. This is also why UN issued the next statement as follows: The Trump administration “should take the Cerd’s early warning very seriously and rescind its decision to eviscerate the mandates and budgets of US civil rights institutions; end its attempt to exclude white nationalism from the federal government’s Countering Violent Extremism programs; and end immigration and refugee policies based on anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant sentiment.” With that being said, our recovery lies at the core of our nation-building. I know it empowers me and I hope it does the same for you.

 I’m tired of our country looking like a joke to the rest of the world. If I was from another country, I wouldn’t take us seriously other… I can’t help but picture us as Brittney Spears, circa 2007. We are losing our shit! I just hope that we shave our heads and settle down… Take some time to reflect on how we got here and do some self-help classes or something.  Maybe check into a nice rehab in Malibu? This process though will take more than just one political party taking action; it’s going to take alllllll of us. That whole, “Seek first to understand and then to be understood”, and “You don’t fight fire with fire. You fight fire with water”, will need to be at the forefront of everyone’s mind. I know, I know. Easier said than done and I am just as guilty for fighting fire with fire. We just need to be the change we want to see. Below are some links to some groups that give guidance on how you can make an impact. Feel free to check em’ out!

*PHEWW*… This was a struggle of a post but thanks to those who took the time to read it!  I promise the next post won’t be as political but hey, I did warn you guys that I would be discussing current events. This shit is happening and just because it doesn’t affect you personally, it doesn’t mean it’s not oppressive.

Is it Friday yet?

•  Racial Equity Resource Guide
• American Civil Liberties Union
• People Power

Later!

Katie