Young people are so good at cutting to the chase,
Breaking it down,
This weekend Maya Angelou spoke in Jacksonville, she has been moving through the state,
This month and considering her age, almost eighty, that is amazing,
She is one of my Sheroes...
Anyway as some of you know, she is backing Senator Clinton for president,
And that seems to have set many Black folks on edge,
Hadn't bothered me a bit,
I figure that if one can't choose what they want to do at eighty,
When can they...
This is what led me to the young person's angle...
I was talking to one of my kids and we talked about the issues of voting,
I was asked how I felt about Dr. Angelou's stance,
And I said what I said above,
We all have choices as to what we will or will not do,
And making them is personal,
They of course agreed, but wanted me to explain,
Why is it that "WE" want everyone to be like, think like, vote like, US...
I really couldn't give a clearly defined answer, other than to say,
That is usually how we have won or attained most things,
By banding together, otherwise it didn't happen...
I was then asked was it right...
I honestly answered, 'It's only right if it's where your heart and research leads you'...
I went on to say, 'It's hard to change minds, hearts or history and if a group mindset is what has driven you, it makes if difficult to at a minimum vocalize opposite opinions. No one wants to be considered a sell-out so many who don't agree remain silent. And sometimes many who are vocal do something entirely different once they cast a ballot. It takes enormous courage to do what works for you, particularly when the majority is doing something different."
He said, "That is peer pressure at it's worse..."
Umm Hmmm.
I told him that was one of the things that had endeared me to Dr. Angelou years ago, I had heard her say, (paraphrased), 'We must stand on the side of what we believe and is the right thing even if no one else supports us.' At the time she was talking about if we heard or saw someone do something that didn't feel right to us....such as making a racially or sexually insensitive remark...
And what I knew for sure, is that when she took her stance as to who she was supporting, she was doing that, from her own perspective, she was excercising her CHOICES....
Blessings,
angelia
