Gluten and Systemic Racism
Systemic racism is like gluten:
( for this analogy it is important for me to recognize that gluten allergy is different then something that systematically is ending lives, the content of this piece is a part of my own journey to open my eyes to pervasiveness of racism in our country. Thank you for joining me on this journey of self discovery in a quest to be even more empathic and impactful in the world around me)
This thought hit me hard in my kitchen the other day.
Gluten is in everything, it is in items that feel like they should be safe, healthy items, delicious items-𝗺𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗲𝘀.
𝗜 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲.
Just because I do not suffer from gluten does not mean that it is not dangerous for others, or that it is in any less food items.
It is a privilege for me to enjoy all restaurants, meals, spend less time looking at labels to ensure the food is good for me.
i am not bloated, or hurting when I leave a hang out with friends for a meal, and I do not have to spend time educating people on what I can and can not eat.
But when I have a friend that is severely affected by this: I spend time researching recipes, clean my kitchen differently, I do not use the same knives etc: 𝗠𝗬 𝗟𝗜𝗙𝗘 𝗖𝗛𝗔𝗡𝗚𝗘𝗦 𝗧𝗢 𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗨𝗥𝗘 𝗠𝗬 𝗙𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗡𝗗’𝗦 𝗦𝗔𝗙𝗘𝗧𝗬. 𝗜 𝗔𝗗𝗝𝗨𝗦𝗧, 𝗜 𝗗𝗢 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗔𝗦𝗞 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 𝗧𝗢 𝗕𝗘 𝗔 𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘 𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗦 𝗦𝗘𝗡𝗦𝗜𝗧𝗜𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗢 𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗡𝗚𝗦 𝗧𝗛𝗔𝗧 𝗠𝗔𝗞𝗘 𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠 𝗦𝗜𝗖𝗞.
As a white person, to continue to remain ignorant to the system that has been passed down to me without demanding change is like saying my grandmas brownies are delicious, you should eat 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘤 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘸𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮- 𝘐 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘶𝘱 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴- 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦.
We are more creative, more expansive, more dynamic then to settle for this. I for one and ready to change deeply the patterns of my life that have contributed to systemic racism.