This has been on my mind a lot lately but recently I deleted part of the part one of this title. The post originally had no title and was going to be different in tone altogether. The reason for my hesitation? Writing with passion and writing in anger are two very different things.

*I’ll warn you though, that if the fact that I’m a man and writing this bothers you then you might not be ready for what follows.*

I’m a feminist, I’ve said this many times but more often recently. I’m 5’3″ and would be classified as ethnic, with those ethnicities being “black” and hispanic.

I’ve dealt with my own prejudices in life because of this: racism included, sometimes from people close to me. Not all of them knew of how deeply the racism struck, or how unnaturally ingrained in society it’s become to the point that it feels natural in terms of mind set. Nor would many be willing to take time to understand the hurt, yet are willing to use it as an excuse. I should’ve spoken up, but sadly I’d learned and observed that speaking up meant further judgment and ridicule.

I know that all I’ve endured throughout my 30 years of life don’t at all compare to the atrocities women have had to live with generation after generation. I can do my best to understand but I alone would only begin to scrape at the tip of what women around the world have had to live with decade after decade.

The #MeToo movement has been growing rapidly and I think it’s great. Women no longer standing for what they’re told they “can” have and going after what they’ve always felt they deserve. Excellent, to say the least. It’s a powerful movement. And really, it’s only the beginning of what the world needs to truly thrive and create a better future.

 

One concern I have: We have to be careful not to get carried away in the feeling of power, much easier said than done. It’s happened in the past and quickly a powerful movement turns into a reckless force. The Civil Rights movement had it’s share of violence from those still afraid to see beyond skin tone; anger and hate fueling the fires of injustice. Inalienable rights have continued to be used to keep the fire going.

The Zoot Suit Riots happened before the “initial” start of Civil Rights. Again, the need of control and lust for power became the bases of action. It’s true, actions do speak louder than words but it’s because words take longer to manifest.

To go even further back, the film The Birth of a Nation, hailed as a truly “great” American film at the time. It’s purpose, was to brand black men and women as less than human, feeding into fears lingering in non-black people after having black people across the nation granted freedom and allowing them to become American citizens. The Birth of a Nation however, made sure to keep black people down and demeaned, labeling them as rapists and murders, using scenes in the films to bring such fears to life having a caucasian actor dressed head to toe in black face committing the terrible crimes while smiling.

In films to follow, even if attending high class events, black people were depicted as animalistic and subliminally shown as being out of place in a “civilized” world. People, out of some lost form of patriotism, latched on to these ideals and allowed borders and separation to determine the state of living in America. This is the first, and possibly foundation, for life imitating art.

Slightly further back to the discovery of the Americas when similar alternative truths were proclaimed, explorers decided that another group of people were worth far less than human and took advantage of the hospitality they were shown. Perpetuating the cycle of “savages” versus the humane. Slaughtering native people in savage ways to show how “civilized” European and Spanish explorers were. 

This is the truth, what we can now know and use to help push us towards a true equality driven path.

 

In these instances, power and greed were the ammunition to gain fast possession of something that many were too impatient to understand. They’re actions drowned out the words of those asking, “Why? Why can’t we all just get along?”

Women, this is your time. This is your chance to speak up and be heard and help the world, a world that’s far too long been built on keeping you in chains, understand the truth. The truth of who you are, why you are and what you are.

 

What I recognize to be happening is a collective awakening. It’s like, have you ever been hurt by someone but held onto that anger? Instead of trying to understand the truth of what happened, convincing yourself that somehow what has happened didn’t actually happen? Then one day, something small, something seemingly insignificant reminds you of another small detail about what happened and it sends you flying off the rails! You’re angry, you’re hurt, you’re frustrated. You’re so many things all at once and it’s overwhelming. Why? Because it’s overwhelming! Everything suppressed is being brought to the surface, like an emotion driven surprise party. What do you do? How do you cope?

This is a light example of what happens to people who’ve undergone traumas: assaults, attacks, robberies, abuse and rape. Which women, as a collective, have been enduring for hundreds of years. Then all of a sudden there was a trigger, an orange blip on television screens worldwide, that brought up everything women’ve been told they needed to suppress in order to make it in a “man’s world.”

I don’t know about you but I couldn’t help but ask, “Is THIS what we’ve created? Is this the image of society as it’s been building in this country?”

 

So, the trigger’s been hit and now? Women, you’re angry. Which is good. Be angry. Let yourself feel what you’re feeling. Let yourselves become in tune with the feelings you’d been told you weren’t allowed to have or act on. Not only is it your right but it’s part of your freedom as being human. Yell, be heard; BE YOU!

 

I in no way think you should “keep it down” or “relax”. My concern is that the anger might become the focal point. Anger’s natural but it doesn’t and shouldn’t be maintained for the long term. Then we go from one side of the scale to the complete opposite, in essence over stepping the true goal of equality. Kind of a, “No problem can be solved with the same mentality it took to create it,” thing.

In which case it’ll stop being about equality and become yet again, about dominance. Asserting power for the sake of being powerful. A repeat of history, yet again.

 

Women, my fellow human beings, my equals. You are not the only victims of the false-promise-filled-patriarchal-pyrimidal-society that’s governed the world for far too long. We’ve all been victims, we’ve all been fighting for true equality.

Yet again, women, you’ve had it worse than any of us (in my opinion based on history). I think it was always meant to be you to help us truly step in the right direction for equality; true equality. Because that voice that you’re using now, that power inside of you, beautiful empowerment, is what’s caused many men in power to live in fear.

They kept you silenced for their benefit. They kept you silent because they were too afraid to believe in the impossible.

To believe in you.

I believe in you. Always have. Because, women, your empowered-natural-divine beauty is “the impossible” in human form.

Let’s show them just how wrong they were, lets show them what true equality is. Let’s show them it’s the truth we need.

 

“Make the most of yourself by fanning the tiny, inner sparks of impossibility into flames of achievement.” -Golda Meir

“Knowing what must be done does away with fear.” -Rosa Parks

“If you don’t risk anything, you risk even more.” -Erica Jong

 

-Gustavo Lomas

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