An Open Letter to a Former Coworker
Selective empathy is a shot to the heart.
First things first, I saw you shine. I’m not just saying that to be nice, it’s the truth, but glitter doesn’t exactly sparkle at nighttime. I could tell from your eyes that you’d seen better days in a past life. When you told me your story, I went home and cried.
Everyone is going through something.
This is the 21st century, but not for everyone. For some of us, it’s still 1970, and to everyone who says that makes me sound young, remember that a desegregated reality is even younger. In most parts, it has yet to even take its first breath.
This is the age of awakening, but not for everyone. The era of empathy for the privileged “some” people, and we are not among the “some.”
Everyone is going through something.
You’d seen success back when you were living in a different place, and you’d become accustomed to letting a little bass weave itself into your treble voice. But if the people here had it their way, that wouldn’t be a choice.
And I know the same way that you do that we have to get loud to get things done. The biggest misconception out there is that nonviolence is the way that any form of freedom’s won. I know…
