Friday, June 12, 2020

The Rest of the Week Are For Daytime Pajamas - and Other, More More Important Thoughts

I wrote in my last post about getting some additional wear out of my non-work appropriate clothes during this time of quarantine – it also cuts the other way in the sense that other days I’m more of less wearing the equivalent of daytime pajamas. Leggings, sneakers, a loose fitting top, and a velvet open front cardigan (the photos don’t do it justice in showing its velvety sheen) are pretty much peak lounge wear for me.


Unrelated to the above, but of infinitely more importance, the last weeks have basically been a living hellscape that have reminded us all of the very real, very pervasive, and very deadly place of systemic racism in our society. The murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless victims before them are a stain on our society, and also a very much needed call to action that I hope, unlike all the other times this has happened before, will actually be heeded in a meaningful way. While the examples I just listed are drawn from south of the Canadian border, make no mistake that Canada is a colonizing, settler society, with deeply ingrained anti-Black racism and a legacy of mistreatment of Indigenous people that is nothing short of shameful. I've been doing a lot of reflecting over the past two weeks and here's where I'm sitting:


  • It's not enough for me to simply be not racist. I have to be aggressively anti-racist. That means reckoning with the reality of my white privilege, which I know exists but which I acknowledge and then never really think about in the context of my daily life. Actually grappling with that means I have to listen more, educate MYSELF and not expect others to do it, be willing to not be defensive about the reality of my privilege and how it might blind me to certain things, and be more willing than I have been to embrace the awkwardness of all this, call people out when it's deserved instead of sweeping it under the rug, and let my feelings get hurt when it's warranted.

  • I have to be proactive in raising my daughter to do all of the above. Sure, we have some kids books that feature non-white characters and history and stories but that's not enough. That's just encouraging awareness and appreciation of diversity - that's a great thing but it's just not enough. 

  • I have a platform. It's small and it's not usually a place where I grapple with things that are terribly important, but it's a platform nonetheless, and it's mine. So, in order to try to be a little more of an ally in terms of how I use this space, I'm pledging that, in each and every post, I'm going to share a resource or a link or something that amplifies the voices of BIPOC individuals and communities. It's not much, and I know that. But I hope it still has value.

So, in accordance with my last point, here's the first thing I'd like to direct your attention to - the brilliant, affecting podcast 1619, arising from the New York Time's Magazine 1619 project. I listened to the whole thing over a few days this past week and I can't praise it enough. Please consider taking a listen.





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 leggings: Old Navy / shirt: Winners / cardigan: ASOS / shoes: Aldo

5 comments:

Closet Fashionista said...

Loveee that blazer!!!
and yes, these last two weeks have been so draining, I can't imagine what it's been like for the black community. I'm sure they're all exhausted after fighting for so long and now more than ever.

Mica said...

that velvet cardigan looks so soft! :) What a great loungewear piece! :)

This horrible situation has opened my eyes to a lot of the bad I was unaware of too :( It's embarrassing that I didn't know a lot about the situation before, but I'm learning and I'm trying to make sure I have more diversity at home as well, particularly in out books. Being a mixed race family I'm shocked we don't have more representation - but confess it's something I never thought about before! thinking about it now and vowing to do better!

Hope you are having a lovely weekend :) It's a rainy winter day here!

Away From Blue

Cee said...

The past few weeks truly have been something, haven't they? Minneapolis is awfully close to home for me and, more than anything, the events have pushed me to see things I haven't been paying attention to within my own community. Winnipeg is home to a lot of police violence against people of colour and that isn't something I can continue to ignore just because I am unlikely to be a victim. It's going to be a process, but I hope this movement doesn't lose momentum and I'm trying to do my part to keep it going.
xox,
Cee

Dasynka said...

This year was a real difficult one, but I hope everything will lead us to some changes for this world. Aside from the pandemic, the anti-racism needs to be embraced and spoked loud, I tried to do my best on my channels too.
xx Dasynka
http://dasynka.com

Lorena said...

These last weeks have proven to be awakening, shaking and everything but static.
We are being slapped in the face, getting wake up call of all sorts, it alls begins with us making the necessary changes and choosing to speak up when something is not right, by remaining silent we're also oppressors.