(R.I.P Vanessa Guillen)
1.
I think that when you organize a social justice event; participate in a rally or a cause it’s because something about that issue moved you very deeply. You were drawn in even though the energy doesn’t completely mirror your experiences. It’s is still magical, transformative and impacting to fight for your beliefs and your values, to see so many people fight against injustices fills me with hope for humanity. I feel human again, am reminded that I am part of the human race. I’m embarrassed to say it, but I feel heroic, the way they always stand on the side of what’s right.
2.
I never approach a social justice cause conditionally, do you? Is your political support conditional? Do you go..? Have you gone to a BLM rally and told yourself “alright I’m here, but these bitches better show up when my community puts on a rally!” Do you sign a petition advocating for LBGT rights and think “ok, but when my ass is getting discriminated against, y’all punks better have my back too”? Or have you walked for AIDS research or to end homelessness and said “I know I’m gonna see you mother fuckers at the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure.” Is your support for Black Lives Matter conditional? Knowing that Latino/as/x will greatly benefit from the social reforms this movement is proposing, and that when BLM leadership speaks they always say “Black and Brown communities…” do you really think the BLM doesn’t have the Latino/as/x communities back? Have you heard how BLM speaks on immigration detention centers and abolishing ICE? Do you really understand BLM or are you just caught in the momentum? Will you ever stop asking, no demanding that BLM do for you? Do you think the rage and pain that you feel about Vanessa Guillen’s murder is best used by attacking and calling out BLM? Is the problem that Vanessa was a victim of patriarchal misogyny that was covered up by sanctioned rape culture in the military or that not enough Black folks are talking about her murder? Can those values, that vision for a better future that moved you to join BLM’s fight serve to honor Vanessa Guillen’s story and that of so many women, victims of sexual assault, whose voices have been silenced?
3.
Keeping it 100 how many of you that are so upset about Black people and Black orgs (cause believe me BLM is NOT the end all be all of Black communities power) not supporting by speaking out about the Vanessa Guillen murder? How many of you have actually made an attempt at collaborating with Black orgs? How many of you have sent an email to a Black leader, tagged a Black community leader, Black discussion board etc. in a post alerting them to this issue? How many of you can clearly say I tried reaching out for their support and was thoroughly rejected? Cause let’s face it activism is not just posting or marching in rallies, it’s also about making connections. Making connections with organizations and people but also making connections between social injustices, being intersectional with how we see things. In case you haven’t noticed the Black community is kind busy right now. They’ve been dealing with the psychological toll of watching their people die before cameras for a number of years now. As we know the killings have been going on for years but the recorded accounts are more recent. They are a community that is fighting for their humanity. And yes, yes!!! Latino/as/x has been out there participating in these protests. Latino/as/x are putting their lives on the line for the cause but it is not the same to be part of a movement than to be the movement (see section 2 above). Why not be more compassionate and say “we got this!” as you step away to focus on Vanessa’s murder if that is your choice. Why not be powered by the momentum that started with George Floyd’s murder (Yes I positively brought him into the convo) and continue the fight against injustice. That’s the root here. Injustice. The killing of Vanessa is painful to see how her death could’ve been avoided, how the institution which she was loyal to tried to erase her. Literally they tried to make her disappear. Isn’t this America, where the highest honor and form of patriotism is serving your country? Where are the pro-military folk? Are we calling them out too, all those patriots that think kneeling as a sign of peaceful protest is the most disrespectful thing you can do to people who serve in the military? How about killing one of your own, where does that fall on the un-patriotic scale? Her life didn’t matter to them. Her murder is intrinsically connected to the systems that have oppressed the Black community and Latino/as/x communities for years. Given everything that has happened since March of this year, how Covid-19 has disproportionately affected Black communities, the lynchings, the uprisings against police brutality, I will not demand for the Black community to prove their allegiance to Latino/as/x. The Black community doesn’t owe me anything for all the times I’ve spoken out against injustice under the wings of BLM. For me injustice IS injustice whether it be against Black folk, Central American children being caged up, sexual assault, violation of Indigenous sovereignty, trans women of color being murdered, I will speak out against injustices. I will not use my rage and anger against another marginalized group that is fighting and has been fighting for their full humanity for 400 years. I will not be a burden on them. Vanessa Guillén needs to be respected and honored. I will fight for the silenced voices, fight for her memory.
