We need to speak up now.

This one goes out to everybody who, like myself, is part of dominant culture in one way or another, and who is critical of how that dominant culture is handling things.

Please, I am begging you, speak up. If it is safe for you to do so, please speak up when members of your culture or subculture say things that are wrong or harmful.

This post was prompted by a tweet I saw from Rainn Wilson, the guy who plays Dwight on the office. Please see it below. It reads “The metamorphosis of Jesus Christ from a humble servant of the abject poor to a symbol that stands for gun rights, prosperity theology, anti-science, limited government (that neglects the destitute) and fierce nationalism is truly the strangest transformation in human history.”

And it really got me thinking. Because when I shared this to my Instagram and Facebook stories, I got a lot of Christians messaging me telling me that they strongly disagree with the way people have twisted Jesus’ words and actions, and that they agree with Rainn Wilson's comment.

Similarly, when I share posts calling for white people, men, or straight people to speak up in support of social movements or to share about how people from these groups need to smarten up and stop harming others, I get a lot of DMs from people who are in agreement.

And, while it makes me very happy to know that there are so many people out there who are good people with inclusive values,

I'm not sure how many of these people are actually calling out the bad behaviour when they see it in real life or online…

And it is absolutely not enough to only or primarily express your agreement privately.

It is not enough to apologize to the people who have already been harmed or who are currently being harmed by other people in your group.

It is not enough to just distance yourself with subtle othering statements like “oh, well a real Christian would never say that!” or “I agree - some men can be so oppressive.” or “yeah, I know a lot of white people who are covertly racist.”

Saying those things is not very helpful in the long run. Instead you need to call out the harmful behaviour when you see it happening.

We are in the middle of a massive social movement. We are on the brink of achieving so much awareness, winning rights for marginalized groups and moving the needle towards true equality for so many people. And we need to keep this momentum going. But that cannot happen if the people who agree with the movement are silent publicly or while chatting with the people they know.

And I know that for some people speaking up is not safe. You may have violent family members, could lose a job, be evicted or experience other harmful material, real world effects.

But I suspect that for many of us this is not the case. We are simply afraid.

So I'm asking you to be brave. Especially if you are from a privileged group. Please, for the love of God, use your fucking voice.

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Lifestyle + Culture, LifestyleApril JordanComment