Traditions rooted in racism….let’s talk about it. People are really tired of hearing about and addressing racism. Man I feel them though. I was extremely tired of being silent about experiencing it (insert eye roll here). No more my friends. I WILL NOT SHUT UP! In fact I’m just getting started. This was how I felt earlier, still do but now there’s more to it. Before I could post this I got a text from a friend. She was upset about the racism surrounding Dr. Seuss. Over the weekend she had sent me the dress up days for her daughter’s school celebration. I told her about his racist past but how as a teacher after finding out years ago I would still do activities for Seuss week because the kids really did enjoy the stories. Back then I didn’t do the deep dive that I should have, naively not wanting to know the truth…not yet ready for the truth.
Today though she DID do the research and was saddened by it, not wanting to continue on with the week’s celebration. Earlier in the day I had read a post about the latest articles regarding him on an educator’s website. The comments were the usual “we’ve turned into a cancel culture”, “they’re just kids’ books” “everything is offensive now”. This got me thinking. I told my friend that I’m glad I’m not in the classroom anymore to even have to decide should I use the books. It’s like people find out these horrible things but because it’s “tradition” or something they like they make all kinds of excuses to continue upholding things they shouldn’t.
Fact is we all do it as a society. It’s like when it doesn’t directly affect us we don’t get as upset, and that is just not a good thing. We all need to stop taking the easy way out. When we KNOW better, we’ve got to start doing better even when it’s hard, even when it’s been the “norm” for far too long. If you want allies for your cause, then you have to be willing to be that same ally when it comes to others causes. I think my friend said it best today when she posed the question: What are some things others feel strongly about that I may have ignored or not even cared enough about because it wasn’t affecting me? Topping it off with being an adult is hard. Yeah it is, but it’s time for us to be the change we want to see.
What’s Kay Saying Today? 