There are people committed to avoiding honest discussions about any topic that challenges their worldview. This fact intersects the Venn Diagram of "socially unacceptable" conversations.
Some of this reluctance is steeped in a sincere desire to avoid controversy, but some of this is more malevolent. There are people committed to hijacking any conversation that makes them feel uncomfortable.
Too often people understand their defense of an untenable status quo as patriotism, while simultaneously condemning people who are actually fighting for equality. This is the exact same pushback abolitionist faced. I have five sincere questions for people caught in this paradox.
Are you willfully confusing protest movements against police brutality and discrimination with being anti military?
What is it about the legacy of racism in America that makes you uncomfortable?
What does your refusal and/or inability to get outside of yourself and view this country through the eyes of someone who hasn't had the traditional "American experience" say about you?
What are you actively doing to change the ways race and racism affect your fellow Americans?
Do you really believe that if marginalized communities stopped telling their stories about discrimination and bigotry racism would disappear?
