A single voice

“If I don’t speak, who will?”

This is the core of one of my most beloved novels yet to be finished. The power of a single voice. The idea that one person can change the world.

Heyo, lovely people. Wherever you are, whoever you are, whatever the colour of your skin or the orientation of your sexuality or gender, I hope you are safe and well. To those who are in the face of COVID-19, who are in the heart of marches and protests, I hope you are okay. I have wondered what exactly I wanted to say, or how I would find the words. In truth, one of my favourite speeches thus far given was one of silence — the only time I’ve seen where silence was the right thing to say.

Justin Trudeau was silent for 21 seconds. Many on social media have entirely mistaken this silence, believing it to be a form of ignorance. Of cowering back. And while I can understand that people yearn to hear leaders, such as highly-respected and well-liked leaders like the Canadian PM, I find it perfectly encapsulates the reality of the situation unfolding before our eyes.

There are no words that will accurately portray the horror and grief and devastation of such violence. The idea that there are protectors who violate their oaths, who say with their actions that here, who aren’t interested in unity, but uniformity.

Silence. Words. Actions. So many ways of speaking. None of them will ever be entirely right, and none of them will ever be wholly interpreted in the way the speaker initially intentioned. Even if you use the plainest language possible, there will still be interpretation. 

Right now, I’m struggling to write this. Every word seems to be the wrong one. That being said... the character who said, “If I don’t speak, who will?” — her name is Kabry, and she is easily my favourite character in that series — is the kind of person I aspire to be. Who knows exactly who she is, what she believes, and fights for it. Even young, even at odds against an entire world, she fights. She knows the dangers. She knows she’ll be beaten down. Yet in her soul, to stand down would be the ultimate betrayal to her character.

The reality is this. We are at a point of incredible divide. To state your belief in something is equivalent to putting a target on your back. People who disagree, they come charging, waving their fists. But alas, that is the moment most crucial where you must speak, you must hold firm. Because equality, the destruction of discrimination? That’s the only way it goes. You hold on until the end, no matter what.

The marches, the peaceful protests, they combine action with dialogue to fight for what’s right. Even when tear gas is being thrown their way (which is banned in warfare, might I add), they cannot stop. Even when authority who’ve broken their oaths repeatedly attack such peaceful protests, who target people of colour on the streets, they cannot stop. I say that both in the US, and also here in Australia, where policemen come out in defence of their colleagues, reacting more strongly to the language used by an Aboriginal boy than the absolute beating he took by a policeman “having a bad day”.

There is so much to unpack in this topic, and I won’t even get close to scratching the surface.  The violence continues. The discrimination continues. Some will say that racism and discrimination will never end. And so long as they believe that, they’re right.

I hope desperately that I will be alive to see a world where equality is a reality, where governments function for the people and not themselves, where people can agree to disagree without blind hatred and anger and violence and death on the table. I believe that it is possible to end discrimination. Call me naïve, call me a mad optimist, call me blind. But the second we convince ourselves something isn’t possible is the second we guarantee it. I’m not interested in that kind of damnation. More so, what does such cynicism achieve beyond making a more comfortable bed in the face of plausible deniability?

“Oh, it’s never going to happen, so what’s the point?”

My plainest interpretation is what a copout. What a way to avoid putting in real effort towards a challenging goal. One person thinks, “What’s the point?” And it’s nothing. A thousand think it, and suddenly there’s overwhelming silence.

It’s hard. It’s difficult. It requires resolve and a backbone. It requires facing an Everest-degree hill with only the clothes on your back, the clothes being your knowledge. It requires keeping up-to-date on current events, on reading widely to build your mental database as strongly as possible. It means not raising your voice in turn when someone screams that you’re wrong. It’s far easier to say, “What’s the point?” than it is to say, “If I don’t, who will?”

Kabry exists because that is who I wish to be. I want to be someone who sees a cause they believe in, one of unity and equality and basic human rights across the board, and fights ‘til they can’t, as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica would say.

Black lives matter. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lives matter. To suggest otherwise, to me, is equivalent to saying, “What’s the point?”

Do your research. Become as well-educated as you can. If you want to do so badly enough, you’ll find the time. Stand up, speak as clearly and straightly as you can, don’t back down, and don’t bite when insults and screeching is right in your face that it’s all a farce or heresy or hoax. That’s what they want.

What they don’t want? To be ignored. To not receive attention. For people not to bite when they scream. People more invested in hatred and fearmongering may often be louder, but they’re the minority. The second the majority all speaks together in favour of equality, they’re in trouble. That much is up to you.

In the end, I want The Charisian to be a home of calm discussion, where people can share their opinions respectfully, and healthy debate can ensue. That is how it should be across the board. If one person strives to keep this antic going, one of calm and respectful discussion, if every person strives for it, everything will get a lot easier.

My apologies if this isn’t as clear as I hoped. This subject is an incredibly challenging one, and the wrong words can easily make them worse. But we have to try, and if we’re caught out, hopefully, explain with peaceful intentions what we meant to say. We’ll make mistakes, that’s how we learn. So long as we take that mistake and evolve from it.

I believe in a future where racism is behind us. Where people aren’t subjected to discrimination for something they have no control over, but for now, regardless of skin colour, we must stand together, speak clear and firm, and not be silent out of, “What’s the point?”

But that’s all from me today. If you comment, please be respectful, please be sure you’ve educated yourself beforehand, and please take every word with great care. “Sticks and stones” could not be further from the truth. Names have power. Words have power. Words start wars and end wars. The right ones can make us or break us as a society.

Black lives matter. African American, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, from anywhere in the world, they are human beings. We are all human beings, first and foremost, and the sooner everyone remembers this, the healthier our world will be. Thank you for reading, and I hope you have a most beautiful day.

— Charis.