There exists a system of incarceration that manages to evade the detection of even the most scrupulous observer. A system that is so pervasive and furtive that it has taken on a life of its own, adapting and evolving despite concerted efforts to defeat it. Like its natural counterpart, this prison is comprised of cages too inconvenient for those on the outside to detect. Our core beliefs are so deeply ensconced in the myth of the American Dream that we have grown resistant to anything that challenges the security of that notion.
We have zoomed in far too close, and these bars of oppression have dissolved beyond perception giving only the illusion of freedom. Only when we back away from our seat of supremacy can the full breadth of the cage become clear. If we take a few steps further back, the picture begins to resolve more completely, affording an unobstructed view of the full scale of injustice.
I’ve spent my entire life content to view the world through a peephole, never recognizing the blindspots or daring to imagine what the view must look like from inside the cage. If the current state of racial unrest has shown anything, it’s that adopting a narrow view out of self-preservation or convenience is akin to barring the cage door ourselves. I can no longer stand idly by and pretend it doesn’t exist. I can no longer ignore the cries of generations nor belie injustice out of guilt or discomfort. It’s time we all get a little uncomfortable and stand ready to challenge those core beliefs that have blatantly stripped us of our ability to reevaluate our perceptions. It’s time we take as many steps back from that comfortable seat of supremacy and give the picture a good, hard look, and once the waves of nausea have passed, be ready to do something about it!
Mannino Acid 