by Erin Robinson Hall | Nov 26, 2014 | Uncategorized |
I am listening to a lot of voices. I saw a challenge for people who maybe have not directly experienced racism (those of us who are, if we’re honest, privileged) to hush. To give it a few days before responding. So, resisting the temptation to cry out, I have decided to listen. And read. And listen some more. In my experience, listening goes a long way toward change. Gosh, there’s a lot of chatter and statements and continuous commentary out there. There’s a lot to listen to. As much as some comments have made me want to throw things and other comments have brought me to tears, my prayers for peace have led me to listen still. Not listening the way we do in the middle of an argument, where you’re putting your words together in a retort WHILE your person is talking. That’s not listening. I mean stopping your trigger finger on the response to HEAR what is really being said. From all sides. To sit with it and let the words work in you for a minute, even if you reject them with all you’ve got. Hold the words and the images and the cries and listen for what they are saying. Even if, especially if, the voices say something that doesn’t line up with what we are just so sure we think. Listen anyway. Let’s ask ourselves: What am I hearing? What would make them shout this out loud? Is there a situation that would make me shout like this? Is there a situation that would evoke emotions like this for me? Why are they focused...
