The Seemingly Perpetual War: Violence and Racism

Written by Cindy Tan

Cindy Tran is a journalist at CBC Ottawa and a Master's of journalism student at Carleton University.

It seems that in the last two months my social media has been constantly flooded with a rare stream of continuous activism.

I remember waking up to various articles about a black man who was targeted by two white males who “suspected” he was the one behind the neighbourhood break-ins. These men were not charged immediately. The victim was Ahmaud Arbery. 

Not long after I woke up to stories of George Floyd. Who, in his death, became a martyr for the Black Lives Matter movement. For weeks his name has been chanted as both a prayer and a reminder of the injustices inflicted upon marginalized communities. We have lived in a sort of ignorance before, and it is a shame that it takes death for change to be enacted. 

Audre Lorde, a self-described “black, lesbian, mother, warrior, poet” once wrote a literary essay called “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House.” In a society that is still plagued with racism how is this relevant? Give it a read. It speaks to oppression and how one is to overcome it. We do not overcome the oppressors by using their tools of fear and oppression. No. Instead, to rid ourselves of those who only aim to snuff out our activism and our voices, we proclaim. If we follow the cycle of oppression how are we better than the white supremacists who have their foot on the throats of marginalized communities? We are not. 

We have yet to discover how to dismantle racism as a whole, but to begin it starts in the environment. It starts with us as the young activists of our society with the power to spread awareness from the comfort of our home and behind blue-lit screens. Activists were not born overnight and the perpetual war against violence and racism is a marathon, not a sprint. Work towards bettering yourself, your understanding, and become an ally, not an oppressor. 

I seem to subconsciously revisit the topic of racism and social injustice regardless of whether I truly intend to. I look outside and sometimes I catch myself being prejudiced towards those I see who differ from my normal. Is that fair? Of course not. But as I said, change does not happen overnight and you know what the keyword is? 

This means I am aware and I am becoming more and more aware of how deep systemic racism and prejudices stem. Even as an Asian-Canadian I cannot say I have not dipped my hands in toxic microaggressions and racism regardless of how “pure” my intentions have been. I think of the lessons my parents have always taught me and the only one that ever mattered to them was to be kind. 

I take that with me now as I walk through life, as someone who aspires to write stories about other people’s lives and their hardships and successes - be kind. 

I “catch” myself.