photo credit: Crista Rock via @IjeomaOluo and @BasicButchKat (Twitter)

Triggered

STEVE: I’m white and I’m male. My only kinks are that I’m Jewish and I have a comfortable shoe fetish. I’m privileged to communicate that. Um… oh, and my name’s Steve.

GROUP: Hi Steve.

STEVE: I grew up in West Des Moines, IA. I was taught to believe that we’re all the same. Race, creed, color, ethnicity, gender, religion, etc — doesn’t matter — deep down we’re all just human beings who bleed red and have the same number of bones. In school we learned about racism and civil rights. It synched up with what I learned at home. Cool. It was going to be a better world.

But in 9th grade I remember they caught Wayne Williams — the person believed responsible for the Atlanta Child Murders. It was a big deal. It was all over the news. I watched as they brought him in on TV. There were people screaming and yelling, shaking their fists. But the thing that left a mark was that in addition to the adults yelling the N word, there were kids yelling the N word, too. It blew my innocent mind. I remember thinking, “What the heck? Those kids are MY age. Are the schools not all teaching the same things?”

That memory was triggered today because I saw a video of a girl pushing back on her parent’s racism. Pretty sure her parents are my age…

GROUP LEADER: Keep going.

STEVE: When #BlackLivesMatter first surfaced 7 years ago, I automatically went to, “Hey, whoa, c’mon, ALL lives matter.” But then I got on Twitter and was like, “Oh, wait. My bad.”

GROUP LEADER: Uh huh.

STEVE: But just to be clear, I’m not virtue signaling. And I’m not woke. (I’m groggy at best.) I’m sharing because I believe there is always something to learn and uncover, something to do and make better…

Anti-racist resources

Black businesses to support

125 Black-Owned Businesses to Support Right Now

Where to donate

115 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color

Petitions to sign

How to support the Black Lives Matter movement even if you can't attend the protests

Bail funds, legal aid

Here's Where You Can Donate to Help Protests Against Police Brutality

Additional BLM support

How to support Black Lives Matter, wherever you are

Systemic Racism Explained

Oprah & Jane Elliot

White Privilege photoessay

32 Pictures That Show What White Privilege Looks Like

A performance by Dave for his song ‘Black’ that I saw today for the first time and I’m still like…. OMFG WOW! 🔥🔥🔥

Twitter

STEVE: That’s it.

GROUP: Thanks Steve.

GROUP LEADER: That’s a lot of links, man.

STEVE: I know, but we were told not to bring snacks.

🖤💪🏼🇺🇸

Protests around the world

Thousands around the world protest George Floyd's death in global display of solidarity

Police taking a knee

Some police officers support George Floyd protesters by taking a knee, marching

Police breaking a knee

Police brutality videos during protests shock US