Taking My Shot
I’m not throwing away my… voice.
I recently walked into the state store (for those of you outside of Pennsylvania, a State Store is where PA’ians have to buy wine and liquor) to pick up a couple bottles of wine.
I wasn’t there for 30 seconds when the security guard asked the cashier, “Are you going to get the vaccine?”
She said, “No.”
I almost walked out then, but I didn’t feel like taking more time to go to another state store. So I did the next best thing: I spoke up.
Their conversation continued while I picked out two bottles of white wine.
Her: “I don’t know of the side effects.”
Me, internally: “You could ask your doctor! You could look it up!”
Her, continuing: “I never even get the flu shot.”
By this time, I was approaching the register.
“I get the flu shot every year,” I said cheerfully. “It’s no big deal. I can’t wait to get The Vaccine.”
“I wish it weren’t two shots,” the security guard said glumly.
I laughed. “Yeah, I know. That part stinks.”
The cashier, in the meantime, was going on about all the things she hasn’t been sick with: pneumonia, the flu, shingles — and she didn’t get shots for any of those! “Don’t fix what isn’t broken.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “COVID seems pretty serious. I’ll be happy when I can get my vaccine.”
We wrapped up the transition, and as I left, I said, “Good luck!”
Far be it from me to give lectures to strangers. This woman, working a service job, was in her early 60s. She didn’t need to hear from me on the benefits of vaccination. In the past, I may not have even said anything at all! But 2020 and turning 50 soon is making me rethink the idea of not speaking up.
2020, turning 50 soon, and the fact that silence doesn’t behoove us.
In today’s climate, silence signals compliance.
Speaking up is scary, whether it’s advocating for justice for others or respect for yourself. I feel that. And of course, you shouldn’t speak up if you feel unsafe, and I wouldn’t suggest that.
I am posting this on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, and two days before an Inauguration Day that feels like it’s been decades in the coming. I am posting after much reflection about how to conclude what I want to say. And what I want to say is: The time to speak up is now.
I recently had to engage with a friend who compared the insurrection of January 6, 2021, to the Black Lives Matter protests of last summer.
I find myself pushing my comfort level to tell family members that, no, they aren’t experiencing systemic racism — bias, sure; discrimination, maybe. But racism, akin to what people of color experience every single second in the country? No, uh-uh, it’s not happening.
We talk with our children a lot about justice, equal rights, the differences between the political parties, and why their dad and I vote the way we do, and what we advocate for and why (and those latter two are different for the two of us).
Dr. King has a challenge for people like me, and the time to meet that challenge is now. The Trump presidency is coming to an end, and that is a great relief. But it’s not time for complacency for Biden supporters, or independents, or Democrats. It’s not time to go back to what we think is normal — because normal isn’t good enough. Normal for me isn’t justice for all. It’s time for people like me to speak up, speak out, and move America forward, and make it great for everyone.
