The Other Side

Let me tell you about the other side.

Let me tell you about the black man who was threaten, beaten, and eventually lynched because he dared to exist with a different skin tone.

Let me tell you about the little girl who couldn't go to school because she was thought to be so dark her skin would smear the minds of those around her.

Let me tell you about the woman who was told she had to give up her seat, or the man who can't drink from the same fountain, or enter through the same door.

Let me tell you about the good Christian folks, quiet and very much frighten as men in hoods and cloaks march upon their lawns and planted a burning cross that has nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and Christianity.

Let me tell you about the millions of individuals whose brilliance and passion were snuffed out simply because they were of a different race.

Let me tell you about the women who were constantly mocked, jeered, belittled, and objectified.

Let me tell you of the many men and women who had to keep their love a secret, who had to live at odds with their bodies and their self-images simply because we have a finite tolerance of what is natural.

Let me tell you about the many people who lives in fear, who constantly worry that suddenly they will find themselves representing a whole race. Whose shade of skin made them anything but white.

Let me tell you about the other side who has to work twice as hard just to be given a fair shot.

Let me tell you about the other side who has been oppressed, whose ancestors have worn shackles, whose mothers couldn't vote, whose relatives were detained in internment camps.

Let me tell you about the other side, the side who has to go the extra length in order to be less threatening.

Oh there are many sides, but you tell me which side really has it bad all these years. Which side has sown the seed of terror, deny others their rights simply because they threaten a privilege. Which side has committed more heinous atrocities. Which side has a consistent record of dehumanizing and debasing based on concentration of melanin.

Oh there are many sides, and there are both sides. I told you about the other side. You tell me, which side of history do you want to be on.

Bubbles

As I grow older I began to realize that things may not be fine. Not always, and not for quite a few of us. For some, if not all, the bubble will burst and we find ourselves plummeting down a spiral that can be quite difficult to get out of. It is a scary thought, one that justly plagues each of us who are sentient.

Yet the triumph of our experiences is that we can overcome that fear and make the best of it. A bubble, however ephemeral, can be a source of joy and wonder. Just watch every kid who is enchanted by one That a bubble defies gravity and soars to new height is magnificent to behold.

So I guess our options are, knowing that bubbles can be bursted, do we make more of them or do we find that the formula that sustains them longer in the air? I think it is a bit of both.

Don't fret over whether things will be fine or not. Do what you can to make it fine now. Help others to be fine as best as can be given the circumstances. Help one and other to sustain that moment of levity.