The acceptable way of going about things and why it is important to create your own path

By: Antonette Kamara

"The system this, the system that."

A flippant statement that doesn't entirely encompass how I feel when discussing the system, but I think arguably, there is a point to be made. The system these days is to blame for everything. We blame the system for racism, and all of its manifestations, even when describing racism we say it is "systematic oppression." We say the system is the cause of income inequality, poor representation in media, high prices at the grocery store, and everything in between.

But what even is the system really? That is something that I've thought about a lot in the past few months. Following the state-sanctioned killing of Marcellus Khalifah Williams, and the fingers pointing at our broken system, versus the actual people who could have changed that outcome, I've been considering: Is the system bigger than all of us?

Is the system stronger than collective action, movement organizing, and the hearts of the people? Does it outlive us, in its self-fulfilling way, and continue to carry on for generations? There are so many systems, so many things we have set in place for centuries, with reasonings that may have made sense to their ignorant creators, but in this day and age feel deeply wrong.

I think a lot of people have questioned things at some point in their lives. The problem is that most people may question "Why do we not allow people to sleep inside when it's freezing cold outside?", or whatever inhumane principle you may be questioning at any given point in time, and then carry on with their lives. We fail to realize our compliance in any system is why it continues to be perpetuated. We cannot see how ruffling a few feathers to actually answer these questions, is worth it in the long run when it comes to change.

I actually do think a lot more people have compassion and hearts than our latest election cycle would have you believe. As someone who is still fully forming my political beliefs, but knows that am I definitely someone who roots my politics in love, I interact with people across the spectrum. I have experiences with racist Trump supporters, and also racist Democrats. I interact with kind sweet people who are Muslims, Christians, black and white, queer and straight. I think at the root of it all, more people want the world to be a better place than evil.

That is why I believe on an individual level the most impactful, radical thing you could do is truly just something that is not normal. Something that is not the accepted way of going about things. I think that could be small or big. A great example, is the judge in Marcellus Williams's case, Do you know what he could have done? Something different from the countless white men before him who got to make life-or-death decisions for black people. He should have chosen life, he should have chosen differently, and he could have truly done something significant.

That example may not be the most relatable, but the philosophy I am trying to share is that we have a lot more power than you think. I know that a lot of people who may be reading this may be activists in their own right, and already understand what I am trying to get at, but even within the activists' space, I can feel the grief and tiredness. I know we are all tired. To have made so much progress in the last 2 decades, shoot, the last 5 years even, and to see that progress be undone, in a wave of backlash, is disheartening.

But if we tire as fighters, imagine those who don't fight on a regular basis, don't immediately feel the impact of the laws we've managed to pass, and who don't even know of all the great work that has been done.

So if anything, let this serve as a reminder, that the systems we have are subject to only continue to exist because of fear. Fear of losing power, fear of the unknown and uncomfortable. You cannot let your fear allow you to just continue to do things the way "we always have," just because the alternative is new.

Don't get me wrong, I do find beauty in tradition, in history, in preserving the ways of our ancestors. However, I think if we want to remedy problems we have to be willing to break the rules.  I think the two can coexist, with respect for tradition and breaking rules. I don't think it's contradictory, because honestly, in my eyes, respecting tradition doesn't automatically mean doing the same thing forever.