This has been a really emotionally draining week. I started out the week with all the best intentions of focusing on my goals and inspiring myself to get the work done until I got the news of another black man being killed by police, George Floyd. While this is a food blog and our aim is to help people enjoy healthy food, it didn’t feel right continuing writing happy food posts while that’s not my current state of mind. Instead of writing a recipe today I felt it necessary to address this issue in a separate post. I hope you make the time to read it.

While most of the news we get make it seem like this is an American issue, I think it’s important to recognize this a global humankind issue. It’s not something that is contained to America or that only affects African Americans. You can find racism everywhere and it’s usually hiding in plain sight. The most extreme form is the easiest to recognize when someone gets murdered in this case, but there are so many nuances to it and the best way to dismantle it is to be able to recognize all those nuances and change learned behaviors and call it out in others. In order to do so it’s important to educate ourselves to better understand.

There are Black/Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) all over the world and they all suffer in one way or another and will continue to suffer if you stay silent now. Just last week a Dutch business owner in Curaçao decided to call out my island people from which he profited for the past years, and tell them they can get typhus (the Dutch like to curse you with diseases) and that we are all monkeys. Just last week the Dutch government actually acknowledged ethnic profiling is a thing when it comes to checking people’s taxes, which is more like institutionalized racism. Earlier this year gypsies took to the streets in Hungary with signs of “the future cannot be built on hatred’ over unfair treatment by the government. Why these examples? Because you, our readers, are from these places and can’t say this is only an American issue or thank God we don’t live there, because it’s everywhere whether you want to see it or not.

If you’re white, it’s time to raise your voice and use your privilege for the bettering of humankind, because we can’t do this alone and I’m tired. This week has been tiring. I’ve had a lot of conversations with my friends who completely understand me and understand my anger, sadness and frustration, but also had those conversations with people who don’t understand the severity of the issue and have the option of staying ignorant because it doesn’t affect their quality of life and it’s exhausting.

As I’m reaching the end of my rant I want us to remember that this week it’s #georgefloyd, don’t let it be another hashtag that comes and passes, until a new one needs to be created. So many hashtags have come and gone, we must act now. Reach out to your local organizations who are doing the work and offer your support in any way you can. Listen to people of color and instead of getting defensive, look inward to really understand where your discomfort lies. Staying silent during this time is no longer an option, remaining passive is no longer an option. I’m using my voice, are you?