No Peace No Love

 How am I supposed to like the politician who intentionally tries to suppress the votes of the people?

How am I supposed to like the people who vote for those politicians?

How am I supposed to like the senators and representatives who pass legislation that is racist and fascist?

How do I even try to like the people who elect such an element to our government?

How do I accept those that spread false narratives about the pandemic, the vaccines, facts related to the welfare of the people and about the environment?

How do I accept people who listen to that and keep voting for those who push falsehoods into positions of power?

How am I supposed to like those who turn their backs on the suffering of people all around them?

How am I supposed to look in the eyes of people that feed the system that runs off of oppression and not feel resentment?

How am I supposed to have compassion for those who either knowingly or blindly choose to support systemic wide injustice?

How do I even try to like a defense attorney that is attempting at all levels to discredit hard working and ethical witnesses at a trial?

How do I not feel hatred for someone that is defending a white supremacist in court?

How do I not rush to judgment at those that defend and cheer on the system that provokes the violence and killing of Black bodies and people of color?

I have heard that you "turn the other cheek?"

I have heard that you protest peacefully

I have heard Sam Cooke's "A change is gonna come"

I have heard "You just keep on fighting"

It's hard for me to taste the sweetness in the middle of all that is happening

When I see a trial of an officer that brutally suffocated a Black man

When I read about horrendous attacks on Asian men and women

When I hear about blatant racist legislation being passed by a republican party in many states throughout the country

I feel there is an attempt at a takeover

There is a coup that has been initiated

And I feel that the ground has been pulled out from under under my feet

They say you fight hate with love

At this moment I have no love for all those who sabotage the safety of the people I love

Whether they realize what they are doing or not

My recourse is to stay active

To not give up

To love and be loved

But I can't love the ones whose heads are buried

There is no time for that

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