I was sitting here thinking about all the content creators, celebrities, etc. who have shifted their content topics because of all the tomfoolery going on around us. They hit a point where not saying anything was no longer an option.

I am a person who doesn’t watch the news. And I mean I really don’t watch. I don’t even tune in for the weather.

I stopped watching the news when I was pregnant with my daughter. It was advice given in one of those what-you-need-to-know-while-you’re-pregnant type books. It was in a section about the importance managing your stress level for the sake of the baby. Since I’m prone to anxiety, when I saw, “stop watching the news,” I listened. They said the news will be there when your pregnancy is over. I stopped watching that day and haven’t looked back. My little one will soon be off to college.

Even though I don’t watch the news, I still get plenty via my news feed. When I see everybody referencing the same topic, I may get curious and do my research (Google) to find why this topic is trending.

And… trigger warning… BLM, police brutality, death….

I am grateful to the person who decided to press record and capture that horrid video that everyone watched (but me) of George Floyd being murdered by a police officer while other officers stood by and did nothing. Black folk have been saying they’re doing this for so many decades (or centuries???), but for people to sit and watch a man plead for his life and witness him expiring, it woke people up from the stupor. It was no longer okay to ignore what’s been going on, or to accept it as “the way things are.”

I am a person, who was well aware that Black men in particular were being exterminated by crooked police officers simply because they could get away with it. It happened constantly. My ex would scour the newspaper daily and find the reports. Young boy gets shot in the back running from police. Camera footage suddenly disappears. Coroner report suddenly changes. Parents hold press conferences asking for justice. People rally. People march. No accountability. People give up. Everybody moves on.

But this time was different….

As I was sitting here thinking about why various influencers, celebs, etc. started to speak out, I started to think about the current climate of the world. Those “Black Lives Matter” rallies didn’t just happen in the city where Mr. Floyd’s murder took place. They happened all around the world. Black people all around the world rallied saying “enough is enough.” His death woke people up.

It wasn’t that his death was the first, or even the last. It was that his death moved so many people from the simmer we’d been sitting in to a full on rolling boil.

I always hear people talk about…. (and I love living creatures so it creeps me out, and makes me sad, but I get their point) ….the best way to boil a frog…. (breathe) is to put it in the water before it’s hot and slowly turn up the heat.

I think that’s a great way to describe what’s been going on around here (the world) lately. So many of us have been sitting in this mildly uncomfortable water. As incidents happen that are increasingly not okay, the temperature is slowly becoming more uncomfortable.

The temperature doesn’t feel the same for everybody. The measure of the discomfort surrounding you is in proportion to: how the world’s events align with your worldview, life experiences, social influences, content you consume, and your inner convictions—not to mention your financial status, access to resources, and how directly you are affected by what’s going.

For some, it’s not hot. Everything’s good and how it should be. For many others, the temperature increase is becoming noticeable. And for those who are now speaking out—myself included—we’ve hit our boiling point.

The slow rumble has become a full rolling boil and there’s nothing left for us to do but yell, “IT’S HOT! THEY’RE BOILING US ALIVE! DO SOMETHING! SAY SOMETHING!” And some will join in the yelling, because they feel it, too. And some will meet to devise a plan of escape. And some will say, “I hear you. It is getting hot in here. But there’s nothing we can do about it.” And some will say, “I hear it’s hot over there. That’s unfortunate for you. Glad it’s cool over here.” And others completely unaffected by the heat will say, “It’s not hot to me. I’m pretty sure if you don’t like the heat, you could just get out the pot.” And the ones controlling the temperature, will say, “It’s not that bad. The heat is temporary. And, if anyone’s being boiled, it’s because they deserve it. We’ve gotta boil them to keep you safe.”

But you know what I’m waiting on?

I’m waiting for the ones who think they’ll never get put in the pot to realize it’s getting hot for them, too. When will they realize that they are gently simmering as the cost of living goes up, as the gas and food prices become unbearable, and their wages no longer can cover their necessities.

You know what I wonder? How long will it take the ones with the least resources to recognize it’s getting a bit too hot?

I’m wondering when they’ll start to wake up to the lies and inconsistencies between words and actions… when they’ll realize that the one who’s smiling and joking, saying, “I’m not that bad,” is maintaining eye contact while slowly turning that stove knob. I wonder when they’ll realize they’re also in the pot.

I said to a friend a few months ago that I’m convinced that the middle class—well those who are of the “complexion of protection”—will not be the ones to fix this. I believe it will be the rebellion of the poor. The white middle class has too much to lose in terms of community and social status. All that goes out the window when you have nothing to eat, can’t get to work, and lose your job.

Some people have too much money to really see what’s going on. It doesn’t impact them. But little by little, those same ones who proudly wore the hats (and the gauze patches 🙄) will recognize that they’re aligned with their enemy. The rolling boil of need will wake them up. And they’ll see through the steam and notice that it’s only a handful of people outside the stove.

When they can’t feed their families, or make rent, and watch their loved ones struggle and die for lack of healthcare, they’ll start to feel the heat.

When it gets unbearable—because it directly affects them—they’ll look around and realize they too are being boiled alive.

Blessings,

Marlene Dillon Empowerment Specialist

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