If you are complacent, you are complicit

“If you are complacent, you ARE complicit”

This is something that I have been saying for a while but please allow me to elaborate as the recent events of storming our capitol makes this statement pertinent and timely.

The storming of the halls of congress, desecration of American symbols of democracy and the siege of our capitol was done by citizens of the United States not outsiders. This is homegrown, organic, hate that came as no surprise to many who find themselves on the receiving end to such hate. But the problem is not the people who stormed the capitol. Yes they are a problem, but they are not “the” problem.

The problem is the vast majority who allows such vitriol to fester despite clear warning signs. And no, I am not talking about politicians, who are now conveniently jumping Trump’s sinking ship and calling foul. Don’t hang your coat on that convenient hook.

I am talking about YOU!

You who lets a family members remark about how the black family that moved down the street has brought down the value of houses in the neighborhood

You who lets a coworker/colleague talk about how that dude with an accent that no one understands has stolen a job a real American could’ve had

You who feels sorry for the woman proudly wearing her religious garb

You who is intrigued enough by someone’s different viewpoints on life yet don’t engage in meaningful conversation

You who puts up a defensive shield once one points out how your behavior and thought process, as benign as it may seem to you, hurts those on the receiving end of it

You who does not acknowledge the privilege from which they look down upon the rest

You who wants change but cowers at the thought of deep introspection and full personal accountability

It is YOU, the complacent, who is fully complicit in where we are today

I said my piece

Peace