Send not to know for whom the bell tolls... · 5:35am Jun 6th, 2020
"It tolls for thee."
If you find yourself in a position where current events are overwhelming to your mental health, I urge you to move on.
These words are often used as some declaration of a black fate, and looming death. But their message is one far more hopeful. The entirety of John Donne's poem is this:
No man is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.
If a clod be washed away by the sea,
Europe is the less.
As well as if a promontory were.
As well as if a manor of thine own
Or of thine friend's were.
Each man's death diminishes me,
For I am involved in mankind.
Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.
A loss of a single life is a loss to the whole of humanity, and every one of us is lesser for it. This poem is an urge to the reader to take care for their fellow man. Unfortunately, every year people of color, people of different ethnicity than those in power, die in the custody of those in positions of power. Those whom we have been falsely told all of our lives are there for our service and protection. This is an atrocity. For many years, the phrase "I'm proud to be an American" has not applied to me. I have been ashamed at what our country inflicts on my fellow humans, both foreign and domestic.
Right now, all across this nation, people- GOOD people- are standing. They are kneeling. They are waiting and recording and speaking and holding signs to raise their voices in the face of being drowned out by the sound of sirens and bullhorns. They are those who have come to understand that no man is an island.
George Floyd was not an island.
The people being held in cages and poisoned with industrial disinfectant by ICE are not islands.
The many people, too many for me to name here and too many period, who have died at the hands of those who are considered above the law because they enforce it... were not islands.
They were and are all each a part of the main. And the continent of humanity is lessened by their violent theft from us.
Where I live is a small town. There are no demonstrations here, no protests for me to join. I can only sit here, and string together words, but... "While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power."
And so the words, the power I call upon now, is this:
Black Lives Matter.
I've heard rumors about certain members of our Brony fandom and even Fimfiction community taking the side of hatred and intolerance, and it saddens my heart greatly. I'll name no names, since I can verify nothing. I only hope to set an example with my own words here and now, and show that those people do not represent us. As a person lucky enough to have been born into some privilege, I consider it my responsibility to do so. The greatest force in the world, more powerful than rubber bullets, tear gas, and riot shields... is the love that true human beings have for their fellows, and the bonds that we all form together by caring about other people.
If you still find the ideas of "the police should stop killing people based on institutional racism" and "hurting people based on their ethnicity is bad" objectionable... Well, to quote a meme: I don't know how to explain to you that you should care about other people. Our disagreement is not political, but a fundamental divide on what it means to live in a society.
I couldn't let this crisis of conscience in my country pass without voicing my words, as I said I have no way to join directly from where I live. I would ask for forgiveness for posting like this but I am not sorry for my stance on this matter. I only ask your forgiveness for waxing on, I'm afraid I was always long-winded. I can't help it, "Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth."
Black lives matter. Stay non-violent. Do not "speak softly and carry a big stick," speak loudly and carry an open hand to extend to the threatened and the downtrodden. Be involved in mankind.
And when you hear of those who have fallen, whether in the protection of others or under the heel of those in power... Remember that the bell tolls for thee, and we are all lessened by it.
Hear, hear.
Not much I can add or say, at least not as eloquently as you, except perhaps that you need not ask for forgiveness for speaking from your heart as you have.
Black Lives Matter, stay safe everyone.