Being Comfortable with Being Uncomfortable

With the surge of the Black Lives Matter movement and recent onslaught of immigration restrictions, I've been thinking a lot about the kinds of lives people live. People who face systematic racism and hate. People who face injustice and prejudice on a literal daily basis. People of color, who so often are targeted for no other reason than the color of their skin. Immigrants, whether documented or undocumented, who are bullied and accused of taking American jobs and told to "go back where they came from." LGBTQ people, who only recently began to receive (some) of the same rights as hetero people, and have now had those new found rights threatened or removed.

A quote I recently heard has been echoing my head. While discussing racial issues, a white man asked if it would always be uncomfortable for him to talk about these issues. The response from a black woman was that "she's been uncomfortable her whole life." That line really stuck with me. I've known and accepted the privileges I have as a white person. I've heard and read countless stories of the unprovoked attacks and challenges many people face every day.  But, it's staggering to really think about what it would be like to walk around your entire life on eggshells with your hair on end and your guard up. To have to monitor your every interaction for fear it could lead to countless issues, from a hateful remark all the way up to death. To have your abilities questioned and your merits dismissed because someone only thinks you got where you are because of affirmative action or to fill some diversity quota. To be ignored, hated, disregarded, because of something literally immutable about yourself.

I've also been thinking about some of the posts I see on social media. I've almost always stayed away from discussing politics because it's uncomfortable. Because I don't like how I feel discussing/arguing topics with someone who has polar opposites views. Because I'd rather not be bothered with it. But, today, I kept thinking about how people of color, LGBTQ people, people of certain religions and immigrants have to be uncomfortable all the time. How as a straight, white citizen, I have many privileges many others do not. Despite the issues women face, I still am far luckier and better off than so many. I do not walk around life with fear. I do not duck my head to not be seen or try to keep a low profile. I am not belittled or accused of stealing anything from a pencil to a job.

As someone with this privilege, as someone who proudly works as an attorney for Advocates for Immigrant Rights, I've decided I should not be holding myself back anymore when I see a post with false or hateful information. I won't shy away from speaking up when someone says something hateful. I must speak out against injustice and prejudice if I want to see positive change in the world. I have a duty to use my privilege for those who are without. I will use my voice even when it is uncomfortable. Even when I don't like how it makes me feel. Even if it bothers me.

Because I am an Advocate.

~Stephanie