It was the way he just stood there and wore
a badge next to Mr. Carlos and Mr. Smith
as they raised their fists.
Support, but, a quiet and humble support.

He wasn’t “allowing” them to be equal, or “giving” them
some sort of power, he was simply saying…
You are already equal, and I support you as you
step into your own power.

And that felt right to me. Genuine. Pure. Like an
acknowledgment that oppression of others is really just an
illusion of “betterness” built up from some mix of arrogance,
ignorance, internal lack… unconsciousness. And it’s such
a condescending thing, the idea that we “let” other people be
worthy… as if it’s ours to decide.

And it wasn’t just in that moment, he stayed convicted to
what he believed was right and good for the rest of his life,
And he was rejected for it, for the rest of his life.
But he stayed convicted to what was right and good.

So if in my life I have that same kind of privilege
because of something as surface as my skin,
then I hope I carry that same kind of courage and
conviction and humility in the depths of my being.

– Peter Norman / Solidarity

– butterflies rising

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