Op-Ed: My Thoughts on The Matter

Some of y’all are about to be real mad at me, but it must be said. Look, regardless of your stance on the current state of affairs, we can all agree that things are starting to get out of hand. What happened to some good old nuance? Yes, some may disagree with what I’m saying, and that’s completely fair – I don’t mean to erase anyone’s experience or invalidate their thoughts – but all I’m saying is that we all need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

I’ve got a lot of thoughts, and they’re all in this article.

This isn’t easy for me to say, but it needs to be said: something needs to be said. The silence has gone on for far too long. I’m disappointed and frankly ashamed with the lack of voice on this issue, but through open discourse and constructive discussion, we can really tackle the matters at hand. All we need to do is come together as a community and have our opinions and share them. Does it make sense where I’m coming from when I put it like that?

Look, I’m not trying to say anyone is wrong here, but I really do think this is the right way to do things. I’m firmly in support of what I’m saying, and hopefully you are too, but if you’re not I fully understand – there needs to be nuance and room for concession. That being said, it’s still really important to me that you hear what I’m saying and recognize why it’s so important to me.

The time is now. I’m shaking the table, rocking the boat. Folks, it’s not easy, but nothing worth doing ever is. A man once said, “Something needs to be said.” That man was me. Thank you so much for listening to me, and also, you’re welcome for my thoughts that I’ve been thinking.

Without an open dialogue on the matter, we can’t hope to have any progress, which is why it’s crucial to have unity in trying times like these, while understanding that it’s fine for there to be civil disagreement if that’s what it takes for recognition of the subtext and the fact that this isn’t such a black-and-white issue.