LOVE is POWER
In order to have freedom we have to start choosing love as our weapon to achieve freedom.
As cliché it may sound, love is the answer to our problems society is facing today. It’s sad that an individual today in society from any race or ethnic background that’s not white is scared to go outside because they know there’s a possibility of them being harassed, shot, or thrown out from the country. Since the 47th president was running for presidency hate crimes began rising and much more when he went in the office.
For example, Mexicans, Latinos and Chicanos are now being discriminated for the color of their skin, the ethnicity they hold, and the language they speak. The majority of people, usually white people now assume every Mexican or Latino is undocumented. Latinos can show so much proof that they’re citizens and have the same rights that they, white people have. But that doesn’t stop the discrimination or hate towards them.
Growing up in a traditional Mexican family I have never felt that I was inferior compared to anyone while growing up. However, whenever I go out to a public place today, I feel like people are starring me down due to the color of my skin and due to my ethnicity. I shouldn’t feel like that, no one should feel like that in a country where everyone is supposed to be treated and seen equally. But as Bell Hooks mentioned in her chapter, “Love as the Practice of Freedom” in order for everyone to be treated equally we need to open our eyes and learn the truth about how systems of domination operates and learn to look inside politics with a critical eye. This all leads to how one can learn how to love, which is the only solution to get real freedom.
Hooks mentions Martin Luther King, Jr. as a prime example on how he used a love ethnic technique during the Civil Rights Movement which did a big impact since he told everyone to love their enemies instead of hating them or trying to get revenge back on them. Such as how Hooks believes that beginning with love as the ethnical foundation for politics is the only way on how society can transform for the better, I do too. Nurturing, empathy, communication, trust, commitment: pretty much the definition of love. Once we begin seeing individuals based on who they are and not based on their skin color, their ethnicity, or their civil status in this country then maybe then there would be progress. Groups of people have began speaking up, have began using their voice, and have began using all their power to have society change in how individuals see each other and how they discriminate each other.Those groups of members getting attacked or harrassed don’t have freedom. They don’t have what one really needs to be free in this country. They don’t have white skin, they’re not white themselves.
If certain members of society believe they’re superior compared to others therefore, treating them with such hate and anger then they need to start realizing the self-hatred and low self-esteem they have within themselves. Once they begin to acknowledge the truth of the reality that takes place in society then they can start growing in a personal and political way. Some may not want to abandon the views they adapted from society or even from their families but is necessary to happen. In addition, is sometimes not surprising when one sees an individual with racist views coming from a family with those same views. Only love, can break the vicious cycle. Loving the people who oppress you may seem strange, but hate is unproductive and destructive. While there is still hate then no matter how hard one tries to get actual freedom nothing would work if there’s no love.
