Hate in Action, Love in Revolution
By Emerald Anderson-Ford
Let’s talk.
I’m here to level with you. To talk about the plan for our country over the coming months and years. I’ve found that most people don’t understand what the larger picture is, so I’m hoping that spelling it out, clearly, will help create a spark of revolution for the masses.
Recently, I have been seeing a lot of people online, In particular, white liberals/white progressives, who are really angry at the white Christian nationalism that we are seeing on full display in the United States. And I get it, I truly do. I understand why it feels like an affront to what we understand to be the values of the democratic republic that is the United States. It feels like a slap in the face to the ideals that the United States was founded on (or at least what we’ve been moving towards as a country and culture. However, the argument can be made that the United States was founded on really terrible ideologies, and maybe the white Christian nationalists are just leaning into the actual founding of the country, but that’s an entirely different topic for another post!). Overall, I understand why white progressives are really pissed off at their family, neighbors, friends, and other white folks who are moving in a way that is harmful towards communities of color, immigrant communities, queer communities, and just anybody who isn't a white Christian nationalist.
I get all of that.
Where I’m currently finding challenge is in people, in particular those who claim to be allies, not really understanding the difference between hate in action and love in action.
What we’re seeing is that people are driven by hate; they're driven to their action via hate (in particular as we are chatting about socio-politics). White progressives, in particular, seem to display an even more specific drive to act out of their hate for a group of people. And to be more specific, I mean the hate of ultra conservative right-winged/MAGA ideologies. And while I understand that distaste, what it doesn't show is you being able to be moved because you love or care about something or want to protect something in the Black community, or the immigrant community, etc. And I'm not saying that folks who are really vocal about their hatred of white Christian nationalist ideologies don't love these communities. What I AM saying is they are not often moved to act out of that love. To show love in action to these communities.
Studies have shown that we are wired to respond out of feelings of agitation and rage, rather than joy and calm. Our social media algorithms are curated in such a way to get a response out of us, which means we are often bombarded with content that is more than likely to enrage us than not. A post about stricter gun laws is gonna draw in more engagement than a post about puppies. We have been programmed to show hate in action. So, when I get online and see a slew of white progressives, fussing and complaining, and hurling vitriolic attacks against white nationalists, but never giving words of affirmation to vulnerable communities, I have to wonder what’s really going on (I am in NO WAY suggesting that people stop speaking truth to violent power or that ONLY white progressives do this).
I rarely hear white progressives talking about what it means to love the Black community at this moment in time. I rarely see them talking about what it actually means to show love to immigrant communities at this moment in time. What would that actually look like? As we are looking to change our entire way of life, it requires us to move with love. It will require our focus to shift from that of war and righteousness into care and creation. To quote esteemed playwright Jonathan Larson via his 1996 hit Broadway show RENT, “the opposite of war isn’t peace, it’s creation!”. Creativity in love for peoples who are most impacted in these moments and in all other moments of global history. Allyship is not ONLY hating the people whom I hate, it is also showing up, intentionally to LOVE me.
How much more effective would that be? Instead of arguing for 20 minutes on TikTok with somebody who has chosen to spew hateful ideologies and rhetoric, leaving you feeling pissed off with no one’s mind changing - what if instead of that, you acted out of love for those in your community. How much more productive would it be if for those 20 minutes you researched a couple of different mutual aid accounts, or you connected with other like-minded folks, and figured out what it might mean to start a community garden in somebody's backyard. What does love in action look like?
And that’s not to say I think we are gonna ‘We are the World’ our way out of this mess. I understand that the idea of hate in action can spur us into larger political action that is needed. The reality is, action ONLY rooted in hate is, more often than not, fruitless and leads to absolutely nothing. But action rooted in love actually builds sustainable communities and it builds safe sustainable ecosystems. It allows us to imagine what a liberated future is. We’ll never find that alignment if we simply actively hate the same people. A lot of white liberals and white progressives think that being loudly hateful to the right, ultra conservatives, MAGAs, and white Christian nationalists, is a sign of solidarity. But in reality, you hating the same people I hate doesn't mean that you love me and my community. Because as soon as we eradicate those people, those ideologies, where is that hate in action gonna turn? Probably towards someone like me, because you never practiced love in action or showed me that you love me.
So, I'm tasking each of you to really consider what love in action actually looks like. I'm talking about real aggressive love in action. Love is absolutely an action verb, so how are you showing love to those who are already bombarded by images of hate in action around them and towards them? What does love move you to do?
My love moves me to donate money. My love moves me to allow people to move into my home for safety. My love moves me to help people find pieces of land for the most vulnerable of folks (elderly, disabled, people with very young kids) so that there is a space for safety and protection for those who cannot protect themselves. My love moves me to study hand-to-hand combat and understand how to effectively use firearms and then to arm myself, so that I can protect and defend those of us whose bodies and psyches are continuously experiencing the violence of hate. What is love moving you to do? How does love in action show up for you every day? And in what ways would your life and our world change, if focused on us, with love?
Find this and more deep reflections on our Substack, https://liberationnexuslab.substack.com/
