In a debate I witnessed over social media, one user, on the topic of racial fetishization, told someone, “this was never an issue before you brought it up.” Another conversation I saw contained the classic, “I have never experienced it so I can say it’s not true,” as if white supremacy and systemic racism only magically appeared once someone uttered the words. Living in a predominantly white town, people find it easy to coast on blissful ignorance and remain secure in the fact that the injustices they hear about couldn’t possibly happen here.
That would be like saying since I have never been outside the country, other countries don’t exist. While that is an exaggeration of the aforementioned argument, the same logic is present. When there is concrete evidence, photos, videos, and accounts of people visiting other countries I wouldn’t say, “That’s not true,” and deny the validity of others and try not to educate myself and understand where they’re coming from. It is still an argument based on ignorance.
The truth is simple: Someone doesn’t need to personally experience something to acknowledge its existence. Recent weeks have especially seen people sharing their stories, stepping forward to shed light on the injustices that have been committed against them whether it is blatant acts of racism or smaller microaggressions that still contribute to racism in general. Social media and other platforms are highlighting these instances in great detail currently, but they have always been relevant.
There have even been people saying that BIPOC—Black, Indigenous, People of Color—stories aren’t important enough to count as true racism because there are bigger problems to worry about. All these controversies can be boiled down to one common factor that’s absence is detrimental: empathy. If I were to call someone stupid, whether seriously or as a joke, and that person requested that I stopped, I would immediately stop doing so. I would not want to hurt them or make them feel uncomfortable. Basic human decency and common sense tell us that if someone says “this bothers me,” we should correct our actions if we care about their impacts. So where does this line of reasoning start to lose people? Once it is something they can no longer relate to or it doesn’t apply to them, they feel no moral obligation to make a change. If they are not personally affected, what’s the point?
This is why empathy is crucial. Genuine compassion is often mistaken for sensitivity— people say that everyone is too sensitive nowadays and they have to prepare for the real world. The so-called real world is one where we as a society have become insensitive and desensitized to injustices around us given their treatment or portrayal through mass media. So, people are attempting to change their perspectives and approach situations with more empathy and understanding.
When did expressing concern become acting too sensitive? Why does caring about something have to be associated with weakness? What stops someone from refusing to acknowledge their mistakes and grow as a person? Simple actions can create a significant change—the act of listening to others, validating their stories, and helping to amplify their voices. Through self-awareness and empathy, we can all work towards examining and dismantling our biases, however small they may be. Because everyone’s experiences are valid. They deserve to be cared about.
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