This was posted by a friend and hit home in the best sort of way:
@PaulaMcHenryBarkmeier said “Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice without mirroring injustice, the act of disarming evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither fight nor flight but the careful, arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressors free.”
If you’re committed to decency, kindness, doing the right thing, and affecting real change, you need incredible internal strength. The kind of fortitude to maintain your equilibrium when it feels like you’re being attacked.
This is not some doormat position where you acquiesce to the injustice being handed out, it’s hearing the message, standing solid in the face of it and maintaining your composure while not defending or attacking. Asking a question, a direct and pointed question can be the most disarming thing you can do.
Asking to understand their position fully, to explain what they mean and fully expose the thinking behind their assertions can be enough of a level set to open the door to understanding and justice.
Are you up for the challenge?