An apartheid state of mind

Apartheid?

It’s a hard word to say, it’s a hard word to hear. It conjures up images of faraway places, Black and brown bodies, misery, sorrow. This word that we most commonly associate with South Africa has come into mainstream use to describe the relationship between the State of Israel and Palestinians.?

It describes life in the United States as well. Except here, we favor words that create an illusion of integration, instead of naming the severity of segregation.?

A pernicious apartheid state of mind is ever-present.??

It lets us justify unbearable cruelty - 597 incidents of mass shootings in 2023. These are the acts that we see as violent, yet, a small price to pay for the right to carry arms.?

It subtly designs, executes, and then justifies disparities in housing, education, and the workforce, effectively disenfranchising black and brown communities, queer folks, people with disabilities, and those at lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder – acts that most don’t see as violent, lacking direct physical harm.??

We are gaslit every day into believing something is innately wrong with us.

When people of color complain about the lack of career advancement opportunities in organizations with all-white leadership, it’s the employees that are demonized, and seen as difficult, aggressive. They are further silenced. The first to be laid off. Education and credentials under constant scrutiny.?

When people with disabilities ask for accommodations, they are met with resistance. The health needs of vulnerable populations are disregarded, even the act of wearing a mask in public spaces is mocked.?

Even when government institutions have stripped Black americans of their hard-earned wealth through predatory lending, it’s the banks that get a bailout. When Black and brown people complain about racial steering, they are called fussy and demanding by real estate agents. In 2023, simply having photos of one’s Black family is enough to devalue a home by 40%.

Entrepreneurs at the intersection of multiple vulnerable identities who work exponentially harder than their dominant-culture peers find themselves under-funded, under-valued, and under-supported - and then attacked for creating spaces for each other, a la Edward Blum & the Fearless Fund.?

Undocumented workers who undergird the economy doing jobs that would break my back in a day are denied legal welcome, even when their labor is essential to running entire industries. Or documented workers who despite earning millions for their employers, having established full lives may never get permanent residency in their lifetime. The estimated wait time for Indians to get an employer-sponsored green card is ~134 years.?

All while white supremacist groups operate with the full knowledge of law enforcement (who support and disregard vile crimes).?

All while mediocre white men make decisions that bring financial ruin to the bottom 75% (who are hurting the economy by not spending, what they likely don’t earn).??

All while democracy the world over is being held hostage by wealthy (mostly white) men with a winners-take-all-all mentality (as if they’ll somehow survive the destruction they wrought upon us).?

Far too many have learned to survive this life.

We do this by making others comfortable, not making a scene. We hide. We don’t share our stories or not enough.?

And while far too many are terrified of using this word to describe their reality stateside, Palestinians are publicly resisting what can only be described as genocide.?

They have refused to hide. Every day, as dozens of journalists have been targeted and murdered, they make sure we see what is happening.?

They have refused to hide their suffering, their truth from the world.

This is what is mobilizing hundreds of thousands around the world to stand with them.

Palestinians are showing us what it means to fight for liberation and an end to apartheid.

This is a lesson we should all be paying attention to.

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