ALYSSA LOST IN SPACE

2020 has been a hell of a year.

I’m going to keep this short, but something truly important is happening in the wake of a terrible tragedy, and I wanted to show my support and make my feelings on the situation crystal clear.

It has taken me a lot of time to process everything. I actively avoided news avenues for most of May because it was overwhelming and stressful, and when I finally heard about what happened on May 25th, I was shocked in a way I couldn’t express.

And to be honest, I feel ignorant and ashamed and overwhelmed. It’s 2020, and I naively thought that great strides had been taken – that we were getting better at being more inclusive and uplifting the marginalized communities, and maybe we were in my small and narrow view of the world. But it definitely wasn’t enough.

I hope that this time the message sticks. This isn’t a fight that we endure once, it’s something we will have to fight continuously, and we will be challenged. And yes, I do mean we. This isn’t a Black issue, it’s a human rights issue. The Black community has been fighting this entire time, and it’s our turn to raise their voices.

The murder of George Floyd has sparked an anger that has been so terribly deserved and too long ignored. All over the world, difficult and necessary discussions are being had. This is going to be an uncomfortable time, and it has to be. We have to be uncomfortable because that’s the only way to know that we are making changes. If we’re not uncomfortable, then we aren’t doing enough.

And we can’t stay silent because it gives other people the opportunity to fill that silence with hate. We can’t let them take our voice.

Please check out https://blacklivesmatter.carrd.co/ to see how you help and can have your voice heard. For many, it’s a financially difficult time, but there are ways we can help that don’t involve money. There are videos on Youtube where 100% of the ad revenue goes towards helping various associations aligned with the Black Lives Matter movement, including protester bail funds, funeral costs, etc. I’ve had this video playing on repeat while I work (EDIT: That video has since gone private, but there are streams like this one you can tune into and 100% of the ad money will be donated!).

I’m still trying to figure out what I can do to help to raise a community that has suffered for too long. With that in mind, and because this is a geek blog, I’ve been working on some posts to share the work of various Black creators – authors, concept artists, indie game developers and the like. I don’t have much of a platform, but regardless of that, I want to spotlight some of the amazing stuff that the Black community is writing and creating.

It goes without saying that if you’re going to tout that “all lives matter” or other such nonsense, this is not a space for you. I sincerely hope you educate yourself and learn a little empathy, but this is not a place for hatred, prejudice, or racism, overt or otherwise. It’s important that we curate safe spaces and cull those places that allow that sort of hatred and racism to fester. It won’t be tolerated anymore.

Least of all here.

Stay safe everyone.