By Ruth Bayang
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
Like many, I watched some of the protests over the weekend with appreciation of living in a country where “the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress” is protected under the Constitution.
And sadness at seeing the destruction and looting by splinter groups who hijacked the message of peaceful protestors.
My heart hurts at hearing the cries of “I can’t breathe,” from George Floyd in Minnesota. I’m pissed off at Amy Cooper who tried (unsuccessfully, thankfully, and only because of video evidence) to weaponize her white privilege against a Black man in New York’s Central Park.
I learned with dismay what ACAB means. I read social media posts amongst community members who want more policing, others wanting to abolish police. Social media posts of people essentially saying, “If you don’t share my experience, then STFU.” What happened to diversity of thought, experiences, and points of view? Just because I have an experience that’s different from yours, does that make mine any less valid?
Black, white, brown, Asian…why does it matter? We all want the same things.
We all want to live and go about our lives in peace, to love and be loved, to be safe, for our loved ones to be safe, to be heard. We are not different in any way when it comes to this. None of us wants to live in fear or be made to feel “less than.”
While I don’t agree with it, I understand why anarchists are causing chaos and destroying property. Pent up frustration over not being heard. Fear. A general feeling of us versus them. Losing sight that we are all one, not this or that race, color, or creed.
We have forgotten who we are and must return to our true nature: love. Each of us is born without a prejudiced bone in our body. Each of us is born knowing only love. Each of us is love.
In his book, “Love is Letting Go of Fear,” Gerald Jampolsky wrote, “In order to experience peace instead of conflict, it is necessary to shift our perception. Instead of seeing others as attacking us, we can see them as fearful. We are always expressing either Love or fear. Fear is really a call for help, and therefore a request for Love. It is apparent, then, that to experience peace we must recognize that we do have a choice in determining what we perceive.”
I acknowledge that all this might sound idealistic and naive to you. Will you muster the courage to journey back to your true self, to love?