"My Committment to Social Justice Doesn't Mean I Hate White People"

I have always been good at making people feel uncomfortable by being extremely vocal about my views on political and social issues. This has also led to quite a few misunderstandings, especially with people not familiar with social justice praxis.

This post is for those who I've made feel uncomfortable about my passion for #SocialJustice.

If you never read another thing I post, please read and discuss this post by Michelle Denise Jackson, via the wonderful blog For Harriett.  It expresses my sentiments exactly.

There are many people in the world who believe that “social justice” equates to being anti-white, anti-wealth, and anti-male. (I’m not saying who those people are, but you can take a guess.) And if you dare try to have critical conversations about racism—especially the impact race plays in nearly every aspect of daily life in the U.S.—then you are just “trying to make white folks feel guilty for being white.”

There are none so blind as those who will not see.

#nojusticenopeace

Only in America

Do this?... no problem. Sell cigarettes on the Street?....Deadly choke hold. pic.twitter.com/imT912hmEL
— esd2000 (@esd2000) July 29, 2014

Eric Garner:  Tall, Dark, and Threatening

Eric Garner may not have been a saint. Pro-law enforcement media, under the guise of fair and balanced reporting, has made a point to note that Garner had a fairly extensive arrest record (not all convictions; there is an important difference). Still, even as he was no stranger to the criminal justice system, Garner had been in custody over 25 times…and somehow managed to live to tell about it before being choked to death. I say this because for those who would want to push the “he was a known perp who resisted arrest” angle, it is much harder to understand why someone familiar with the system would “resist” to that degree unless there was indeed a life-threatening level of discomfort. Generally, telling someone “I can’t breathe” counts as life threatening.

Watch The Difference Between a White Guy and a Black Guy Committing the Same Crime

Robert Reich on Social Justice and Social Empathy

What does empathy have to do with inequality? At this GGSC event, Robert Reich, former U.S. secretary of labor and a professor at UC Berkeley’s Goldman School of Public Policy, discusses how socio-economic inequality contributes to frayed social bonds—and explains what we can do about it.

Republished from the Greater Good Science Center, University of California - Berkley

The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.