Day 55: Don’t Shut Up and Play

If you are in the United States or if you just have been breathing on this Earth and not either

a.      In a coma

b.      Under an actual rock,

You might have heard about this Donald Trump guy. I have kept my blog clean and free of my political views thus far and I’m trying my hardest to do so. Yes, I’m aware that people have different beliefs.

I have read numerous articles where athletes spoke out against the President’s, hmm, interesting decisions and just the injustices and problems in America in general. I have read from Colin Kaepernick’s protests to the Brown’s kneeling, from Hockey players in Canada to LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Karl-Anthony Towns of the basketball world. One common denominator that linked all of those articles, beside the embarrassing amount of problems the nation has?

Comments.

“Stick to sport”

“Stay in your lane”

“You’re making millions, so shut up and play.”

Bullshit.

So much bullshit.

My parents were very concerned about me voicing out what I think and what I believe in. They had their reasons. Sometimes, when you’re a foreigner, you have a shorter leash than other people do. One mistake, and they can deport you. One mistake, and they can arrest you. You have no one here, so you gotta take care of yourself. You gotta stay out of everything and just try not to make a mistake. You should just stand on the sideline and watch the games being played, and then afterward go back and do your own thing. I was supposed to just come here and study, no questions asked.

The problem with that, of course, was I am the part of the injustice here. Not for doing anything wrong, but for not doing anything right. It took me a long while to come to that conclusion. It took social media news, multiple protests, presidential elections, and several witness accounts. It took seeing my own friends treated with injustices. It took seeing my own self treated with injustices. It took seeing others speaking out. It took seeing others NOT speaking out. It took overcoming fear: fear of failure, fear of raising your voice, fear of whatifs and uncertainties, fear of rejection. But all those money and diplomas won’t mean anything if you fail to do the one thing you’re born to do: making the world a better place.

You make the world a better place by not getting your voices shut.

Don’t make that mistake!

Don’t shut up and play!

I’m not a sport professional and I sure don’t make millions of dollars, but I don’t have to in order to say that we have issues in America and around the world. I’m surely not a scientist or engineer yet, but I don’t have to in order to say that climate change is very real. I’m not a campaign manager, senator or representative, but I don’t have to in order to express what I think about what the new President has done. (Spoiler: not a fan here) You don’t have to be something to express what you believe in, to speak up and to have your voices hear. There’s no difference between LeBron James and your average Joe in their ability to speak their mind.

So don’t just stick to whatever you’re doing.

If you’re a lawyer, admit that we have problems. If you’re an accountant, admit that we have problems. If you’re a carpenter, admit that we have problems. If you’re a student, admit that we have problems.

Admit it.

And try to change.

If we all just have our voices back, we can change.

“There are more of us than there are of them” – Karl-Anthony Towns.

Don’t shut up and play!

                                                                                                Love,