As if the invasion of Ukraine wasn’t horrifying enough, what has brought me unique pain as I observe the terror there, is that it wasn’t so long ago that the U.S. was invading sovereign territories as well. Condi Rice took to the screen to tell us that invading a sovereign country is a violation of international law and order, not noting the hypocrisy of her statement as the administrations she served in invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems to me that the prevailing rationale for justifying an invasion of a country like Iraq and condemning an invasion of a country like Ukraine is that one country is brown and the other white. What’s more, Russia is an enemy of the West, and the U.S. is a protector of the West. The hypocrisy here is very personal to me. I feel the lack of care, the lack of love, the lack of empathy. I feel unseen and hurt when the lives and sovereignty of people that look like me are disregarded, not acknowledged, or cared for. The hypocrisy dehumanizes me.
The antidote to white fragility? Humility.
The antidote to white fragility? Humility.
The antidote to white fragility? Humility.
As if the invasion of Ukraine wasn’t horrifying enough, what has brought me unique pain as I observe the terror there, is that it wasn’t so long ago that the U.S. was invading sovereign territories as well. Condi Rice took to the screen to tell us that invading a sovereign country is a violation of international law and order, not noting the hypocrisy of her statement as the administrations she served in invaded Iraq and Afghanistan. It seems to me that the prevailing rationale for justifying an invasion of a country like Iraq and condemning an invasion of a country like Ukraine is that one country is brown and the other white. What’s more, Russia is an enemy of the West, and the U.S. is a protector of the West. The hypocrisy here is very personal to me. I feel the lack of care, the lack of love, the lack of empathy. I feel unseen and hurt when the lives and sovereignty of people that look like me are disregarded, not acknowledged, or cared for. The hypocrisy dehumanizes me.