Speaking out.

“Stand up for what is right, even if you stand alone.” -Suzy Kassem

Let me start off by saying this is the scariest thing I’ve ever written and that is saying a lot. I have written about deeply personal things here and have always come to this space with an open heart. But times are different and this subject is different. I’m scared but I know I need to say these things because they’ve been keeping me up at night. I don’t want to look back and realize that I let fear keep me from speaking my truth. So I have to be ok with not being liked. I have to be ok with the fact that speaking out may affect my business and my relationships. I hate it but I hate sitting by without doing something even more. 

I am constantly worried about the division in the world. I am increasingly seeing fear, hate, judgement and blame but sadly, I don’t see it directed in a way that’s helpful or even logical. I get that we’re all afraid right now. We’re afraid for our health, we’re afraid for our livelihood, the people we love and on and on. I’m afraid for all of that too. I’m also afraid of our rights being taken away, of people turning on each other for their medical decisions, I’m scared shitless of our inability to see each other as human beings. I’m scared that we’re turning on one another instead of questioning the powers at the top as to why they want us to. 

Here’s the thing- a decision as to whether or not to get an injection is personal. It is a medical decision. “My  body, my choice” does not come with exceptions. Unless you are someone’s health care provider, you do not have the right to ask about someone’s injection status. And you sure as hell don’t have a right to judge. Some reasons why people may not have gotten it- a lack of trust in the government (seems pretty legit especially if you know a thing or two about civil rights), a lack of trust in the “health care” system, a lack of trust in the ingredients of the injection, a medical issue that’s preventing them from getting it, a lack of trust of big pharma (umm hello, take a peek into the origins of the opioid crisis), worry that there is no liability from the companies making the injections, they are not in a vulnerable population, they trust their bodies natural ability to heal. I mean the list could go on and on. The list of reasons why people decided to get the injection I’m sure is equally as long.

And yet, you open up social media and all you see is hate. I know we want someone to blame but we are looking in the wrong direction, folks. We now know that everyone regardless of their medical decision is able to transmit the virus so it seems like we can all just hang tight here and go back to seeing each other as human beings. You trust your decision and I’ll trust mine. 

The system is designed to make us afraid. The news is selling you fear. This isn’t conspiracy theory stuff here, this is legit. Imagine if the ticker at the bottom of the news channel had success stories or recovery rates. What if we started looking at all of the people that got the virus and got better (which by the way, is an astronomically high percentage)? Well that wouldn’t sell. It wouldn’t keep you addicted to the news, it wouldn’t keep us addicted to our devices and it wouldn’t keep us buying things that these companies need us to. A quick dig into parent companies of news networks and who funds certain government agencies will shed a lot of light in this department.

Have you heard a single news story about the things we can do to help us if we get the virus? Have you heard any government agencies telling you about the importance of vitamin D, getting out in nature, eating healthy, etc.? No. Because none of that fills the right pockets. Imagine if they started telling us that there were things that are in our control that could keep us out of the hospitals? What if they started preaching about ways to keep us healthy so that we don’t have these co-morbidities that are killing people with the virus? Well who gets rich if they start telling us to eat more vegetables and get outside for a walk each day? So help me understand how the same institutions that are not telling us how to be healthy then come out to say that they have a solution for us all to be well. It’s no wonder that people are hesitant about that. 

We should all be outraged. We should be banding together. We should be asking questions instead of throwing shade. Get curious about someone else’s decisions. Before you share a meme or whatever that’s belittling someone or criticizing or saying that we’re in this mess because of them, ask yourself why. Is it helpful? Is it kind? Or is it just your way of feeling like you have someone to blame during one of the scariest times? 

We are all in this together but we’ve chosen not to see it that way. What comes next? Do you report people like me for stating my opinion? Do you turn your neighbor in because they can’t produce an index card with their injection dates on it? Are you deciding that someone isn’t worthy of entering your place of business because of a health decision? 

I’m asking you to get curious, to question, to speak to people in real life, have conversations, listen without judgement, be ok with changing your mind, be ok if you don’t change someone else’s. And for goodness sake, turn off the news. 

Let’s hold each other close right now. If you feel inclined to share this, please do. If you want to reach out to me privately, I understand. Speaking out publicly right now is really scary. If you feel inclined to judge, just don’t. We’ve got enough of that out there to last a lifetime.