'Hate has caused a lot of problems in this world,
but it has not solved one yet'
- Maya Angelou
Brace yourself guys, this might not be the most coherent post I've ever written, but still, I feel the need to write it, so here goes.
It seems to me the world has gotten pretty scary and pretty confusing, pretty quickly, for an awful lot of us recently.
I'm scared because I am suddenly painfully and undeniably aware of just how much hate is in this country and this world. I'm scared because I can't attribute all this hate to one source, it seems to me to be seeping out of everywhere I look. Remianers are hating leavers and vice versa. Terrorists are hating their way across the world, and generating more hate wherever they go. Hate is on our trams, our streets and our corner shops. It's on my facebook and my twitter. I'm scared because it is all getting a lot closer to home. And perhaps the scariest thing of all is that nobody condemns hate as being naive the way they do with hope, and positivity, and love.
I'm confused because change is coming, and absolutely NOBODY seems to know what that means. I'm confused as to how we got to this point. I'm confused about how I could possibly have been so unaware of the hate before, and is this my fault, have I been ignorant?
I'm disappointed because the vote didn't go the way I wanted, and that is a natural human reaction.
I am angry because I think the country was conned by those who are meant to lead us, and I am not attributing that anger to solely one campaign. Political leaders had a responsibility to us to tell us the truth, give us the facts, and have a real plan for what would happen next (whichever outcome) and I don't believe any of them honoured that responsibility.
I'm angry at the hate, I'm angry that I'm confused, and I'm angry that I'm scared and not really sure what to do about it.
And the worst thing about all of this? Is that I can understand why, when you have so many mixed emotions that the easiest way to vent it would be with something hateful. With blame and anger, and 140 characters all typed out in capital letters.
But I am not that person. I refuse to be that person.
I've seen and heard a lot of people saying 'it's pointless crying over politics' or it is 'naive to just preach love and togetherness' but I truly don't think it is. I think it is pointless to throw our hands up and give up, and I think it would be naive to believe that just because the majority of the country voted to leave that they must be racist.
I have friends and family that voted to leave. Some of them out of being scared, some of them probably because they didn't really understand and were conned and some for political reasons that go beyond the ain arguments we all heard. I have a friend who protests race and goes to calais and hands out relief and aid on a regular basis, who wanted us to leave. Was I shocked when I heard this? Yes. But it also gave me hope. It reminded me that while our votes may have been different our fundamentals haven't changed. We both want a better world, more accepting, equal world.
This time last week I believed that we were stronger together. Today I still believe that. Stronger together as country that listens to one another, and instead of hating other people based on a single vote they cast, listening to their beliefs, their opinions, their fears and their confusions, because we all have them.
I believe that if we work together with those who aren't hateful and racist we can make the best of it. We can work to make sure our Politicians don't con us again, and don't tidy up the mess they made by victimising the most vulnerable in society, with blame campaigns and cuts.
I know that the country is divided, and that the confusion is not going to end any time soon. I know that me having a conversation with a friend who voted differently won't provide an answer for the world, but it will help. It will help me feel less angry and scared and confused, and it will help keep hate at bay.
And if every single on of us can find our own way of keeping hate at bay, one day at a time, we'll eventually have built a pretty strong defence system. People who voted differently to you aren't automatically your enemy. Hate and racism is ultimately everyone's enemy.
There is nothing naive about fighting that with love. White wine cleans up red wine. An alkaline neutralises an acid. It isn't naivety, it's science.
I have a lot of other thoughts and feelings about all of this, but for one blog post, I think this is enough.
Wherever you are today, whichever way you voted, I hope you are ok and finding your own way of understanding x
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