Making Space for Rage: #Buffalo & Vicarious Racial Trauma
Recently, I have been writing a lot about forgiveness and the pressure for oppressed communities to forgive their oppressors and the systems that oppress them.
The ultimate goal should be for Oppressed Folks to no longer experience the trauma of oppression. In the meantime, we must “make space” for all emotions experienced by them.
Not just those that inspire
Not just those that minimize culpability
Not just those that are “comfortable” for those who purposefully or inadvertently benefit from these oppressions
We must not only allow the space for, but insist upon centering
Our anger
Our rage
Our grief
Our anxiety
Those who are harmed deserve to be seen in all of their fullness
Especially when their humanity and right to exist is being questioned
In this, there should not be this insistence that we have to personally experience the trauma to be impacted by it
Vicarious racism is real
The trauma of hearing or seeing racists acts committed against members of one’s own racial group has been documented to be personally stressful
We did not question the impact of vicarious trauma when the United States experienced it on 911
Or as those of Ukrainian decent who are living outside of Ukraine are reporting it now
We also have not demanded that they move to forgiveness
Or love for those who have destroyed their sense of safety
Or who did, or continue to traumatize their communities
In this time, as the Black community of Buffalo mourns those murdered in a racist attack
By an 18 year-old MAN whom many will attempt to infantilize in order to offer him compassion that he did not show for those he murdered
The world must stop highlighting the stories of those pushing the narrative of “love and forgiveness”
Giving voice to those who are stating that “we” must “do something” to end the racist attacks levied against us
Because only in the area of racism do we put the requirement for eradication on those who are the victims of it
The stories that need to be told are of….
Our disgust at our trauma only being believed when it is filmed
Our irritation at the attempt to humanize those who seek to strip away our humanity
Our frustration at those who will tell us how and when we need to protest what happens to us
Our fear that accountability will not truly be that
But most of all,
Our rage
Our rage
Our justifiable rage
Dr. Tyffani is a licensed psychologist who centers the needs of Black Women and Girls in her work. She remains angered by attacks on her community and the attempts of others to deflect into “Black on Black crime” when those crimes are prosecuted to the fullest extent when justice is often not seen when we are harmed by others. She views “thoughts and prayers” as overrated, and feelings of anger at racist attacks as righteous. She is the co-founder of Centering Sisters and co-hosts its podcast. Subscribe to the Centering Sisters podcast on Youtube. Like both the Centering Sisters and the Dr. Tyffani Facebook pages
#Buffalo #Racism #VicariousRacism #DrTyffani #BlackMentalHealthMatters #BlackAngerIsRighteous