Barns forwarded me this link today. It is an open letter written to the white liberalist person by a gentleman called Sipho. He sent it because I think he knew I will say: I too get it! Indeed I get it.
Our white liberal friends are genuinely interested in making an effort to demonstrate that we are all human beings irrespective of colour. However, they sometimes do get a tad arrogant by thinking that their wish is a command…..(this is worth unpacking because these liberals are my friends. However, I won’t go into much details partly because I think I don’t have the right words to explain. In my mind, I think their arrogance stems from their inability to properly listen whilst they play the role of self-appointed advocates of what is right and wrong in this planet of ours, called Earth. Thus, inadvertently misrepresent my true feelings and/or views as a black person. I know often they mean well but it doesn’t change the fact that I feel like screaming: walk in my shoes then talk!)
Life is not rarely as we wish it. We all wish the world can be a better place but it simply can’t be if we are going to hide behind silence or refuse to engage with thorny issues. It is not okay that whites are being blamed for the past (when clearly they were a few good liberal ones) but it is also not okay that generations before us were blamed for being born as black. Actually, once in a while we of the new generation still have the pleasure of receiving the ‘if you were not black I would have treated you with a dose of humanity but blame the colour of your skin‘ treatment. Believe me, it is not a kosher experience but we embrace such treatment with a healthy sense of humour and sometimes with a bit of anger; but it is all part of the journey we are currently on! You will be blamed and we will once in a while be treated with unwarranted contempt – even from you, our dear white liberalist friends. This will continue to happen precisely because we are still all in the healing stage and learning about each others sensitivities and so on.
In the meantime lets engage and laugh at ourselves…it will pay off. Thank you Sipho for the letter to the white liberalist – it is truthful and yet fun to read due to those tiny embellishments that confirm that with enough sense of humour, we shall all make it irrespective of colour!
