Life seems to be turning into an eternal battleground full of hate and ignorance. I don’t recognize the country I grew up in anymore. As children we are taught that home is the safest place to be, that here in America everyone is free and equal. As an adult I see fear, hatred, intolerance, and blood. None of this makes me feel free anymore.

Now is the time where we can no longer afford to abstain from involving ourselves in this. We are all affected. We are all involved. You don’t have the luxury of being silent anymore. To remain silent is to allow fear and terror and hatred to win. Unity is something our country has used to persevere since its inception. Look at the American Civil War, a time where our country was completely divided and nearly destroyed itself. We cannot let that happen again.

I do not care what religion you practice. I do not care about the color of your skin. I do not care if you immigrated from another country. I do not care about your gender. I do not care about your sexuality. I do not care about your political beliefs. I do not care where you come from. I do not care if you are a college graduate or a high school drop out. I don't care. Because every time I see someone on the street, every time I pass someone in a hallway I do not see a label on them. I see a human being. I see a brother and a sister living their life. I see someone with a name, a story, a family. The news would like you to see a dead black man as a criminal justifiably murdered by a police officer. The news would like you to see a rich white rapist as a good athlete. I see a dead man who didn't deserve to die. I see a rapist who walked away from his crime. I see injustice because we are so eager to place people in a category of good and bad. We try to see only black and white in our rainbow of a world. Yes there is evil in this world but evil doesn’t come with a name tag. Evil can disguise itself as a hero, a pastor, a teacher, etc. There is no specific way to identify someone as wicked except by their actions. Genetics should not guarantee how society views you.

I am ashamed of our world today. I am ashamed that people are allowed to get up and preach hatred and fear to the world. I am disgusted by the lack of trust I have left for my fellow humans. I am outraged and you should be too. You can call me a whiny millennial who is overly sensitive all you want I don’t care. You should look out your window and see how unsafe it is to be black, or gay, or transgender, or non-binary, or Native American, or female in this country. I am sick of my friends not feeling safe on the streets. I am sick of seeing people abuse and neglect what privilege they have. I am a white cisgendered male living as a middle class citizen in the United States. That is my privilege and I plan on using as much as I can to make the less privileged and less visible seen and heard. I will not sit silently on the sidelines. I will speak out. I will make my politicians and senators that claim to represent me hear my voice. I will offer whatever I can to the people who are hurting. I will not let hatred win.

I know there are more bad things just around the corner. I am scared to say the least. But I refuse to give into rage and hatred. By all means be mad, be angry, but we have to keep level heads. That is the only way we can allow peace to prevail. I am pro-#blacklivesmatter and I don’t hate white people. I am against police brutality and I don’t hate the police. I am a feminist and I don’t hate men. I am an LGBTQA activist and I don’t hate straight people. None of these things are mutually exclusive. “And love is love is love is love is love is love is love is love/Cannot be killed or swept aside” (Lin Manuel Miranda’s Tony acceptance sonnet). That is how I will live my life, with love and acceptance and tolerance because that is the only way we will survive. Stay safe out there and please spread love.