Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:
Can’t we just get back to the way things were? I struggle with such a question. I want my children and grandchildren to grow up with access to basic living standards, to survive and thrive. Don’t all parents like that?
My white skin color afforded me access to making a good life. Sadly, many minorities do not have fair access to basic living standards, while many of the “haves” like myself live a relatively carefree life compared to those who “have not”. Too many of us look away from the huge imbalance denying minorities opportunity to survive and thrive.
Ah yes, the good old days for the “haves,” where the plight of the poor and disadvantaged is ignored. In recent protests, perhaps some folks saw the violence and allowed themselves to ignore the message. Perhaps others fomented violence to cause that. (Case in point: Brandon Michael Wolf, Caucasian, is charged with setting the 3rd Precinct Police Station on fire, while attempting to blame it on the Black Lives Matter movement.)
Perhaps some folks believe police attacking peaceful protesters is justified and that peacefully raising their voices about injustice is inappropriate because it challenges the status quo. Perhaps others would rather hold on to the misguided thought that the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement diminishes the hardships they face. BLM began organizing to build coalitions and awareness of the need to intervene when violence was inflicted on Black communities by the state and vigilantes.
BLM wants to create a world free of anti-Blackness, where every Black person has the social, economic, and political power to thrive.
Let’s not fall backward into the old normal. Let’s look clearly at what has been going on for so many years and undo systematic racism. Let’s not buy into the messages of fear and distrust. White, black, brown, yellow, rich and poor must work together to confront the challenges before us. We depend on each other and on the world around us to survive and thrive.
“Normal” wasn’t working anyway.

Darwin Dyce
Ghent, MN