How I Almost Marched in a BLM Rally
Topic: My Story - Summer of 2020
What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about the summer of 2020? At the forefront for me is the burning destruction of our nation’s cities by ‘mostly peaceful’ protestors otherwise known as BLM activists. At the time, I was a newly awakened patriot and just trying to figure out what the heck was actually going on.
After the Minneapolis racial saga that we now connect with George Floyd, I found myself wondering things like, “Am I inherently racist because I’m a white woman? Is America built on the continued propogation of slavery like the 1619 Project suggests? Should I be changing my profile picture to the infamous black square to show support for my black friends? What if I don’t? Does that make me a bigot?”
Needless to say, this sent me on another soul searching journey that brought with it a ton of criticism on social media from my more liberal family, friends, and hometown acquaintances who didn’t agree with my newfound political opinions.
I grew up in an era where some parents and grandparents still used the “N” word when referring to people of color, and as a result I believe it’s naive to say that racism doesn’t exist at all in our fallen world. However, the idea that it’s systemically built into the infrastructure of our founding documents has proven to be historically false based on the history books I’ve read over the last two years. This one by David Barton is one of my favorites, and it’s incredibly informative:
Setting the Record Straight: American History in Black and White
I wound up searching for books like this during the summer of 2020 because I almost ended up marching in a BLM rally with friends from my church who did just that right after the shooting of George Floyd.
How did I come so painfully close to falling prey to the social justice movement that prior to 2020 I was oblivious to? The simple answer is because I love people. I always have. By nature I’m a fixer and a bleeding heart, and I absolutely refuse to sit by and watch my fellow man be mistreated for any reason. So when I noticed that some friends from church were jumping on the anti-racism bandwagon, and that they had experienced discriminating circumstances in their life because of the color of their skin, I wanted to offer my support. They are the sweetest people. I had no idea what I actually might be supporting, and I don’t think they did either because as far as I can tell, they haven’t been participating in the BLM movement since then.
At a cursory glance, the idea of social justice can appear harmless or maybe even necessary with the way our society portrays it, but once you start to understand the agenda behind it, it’s actually quite a dangerous concept. Thankfully, it didn’t take me very long to figure this out, and I never did march in that BLM rally, but I came pretty close.
Most of my more liberal friends and family who felt the need to attack and/or chime in on my outspoken social media posts to voice their dissenting views have now either unfollowed or unfriended me altogether, and I’m fine with that. When you live your life with a purpose and a calling to something bigger than yourself, you will offend people. Period. It comes with the territory. I thought I had thick skin before this, but boy I’ve grown a few more layers since.
I encourage all my fellow patriots to take the gloves off and use your voice. It won’t be easy when you start getting backlash, but you’ll get used to it, and if God has called you to this battlefield like He has called me, He will equip you with everything you need to fight it. For every friendship or relationship that has walked away from me, I’ve gained dozens more.
I speak with boldness now… a boldness that I didn’t even know I had in me, but at the same time I ask God daily to allow me to see people through the eyes of my spirit, not the eyes of my flesh and to treat others with kindness and humility even when we disagree.
Just because I didn’t put the black square on my profile picture for George Floyd doesn’t mean I don’t have empathy for others or that I’m living in a false Utopia where a racist comment doesn’t exist. But if you fall in line with the social justice agenda, you’re committing to a victim mentality that will not serve anyone well in the end. The freedom that embodies America was not earned by a bunch of victims. Patriots who fought in the Revolution were warriors from all different races and backgrounds. They joined together to fight the war for independence and against all odds, they won.
We are not a victims. That is not who God made us to be. We are more than conquerers. We are above and not beneath. We are the head and not the tail. And we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.
I believe that God had called us for this time to speak truth to others, but to speak it in love. We will make mistakes and we may even hurt people that we don’t intent to hurt along the way, but if our hearts are right and we stay humble and close to God, He will show us when we get off track so that we can attempt to right our wrongs.
Stay humble. Stay hungry, and soldier on. The battle is far from over, and we have a Republic to save. Armor up!
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Beautifully written Toni.