Nobody wants to see their city at the end of a “pray for” hashtag. Nobody wants to see their home in a hurricane’s projected path. (Almost) nobody wants to see their university become a meeting point for a white supremacist and his supporters — but Thursday, UF will see exactly that.
You probably already know that Richard Spencer, a white supremacist and the president of the National Policy Institute, will be spewing hate from the Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, located at 3201 Hull Road, on Thursday afternoon. Roads will be closed, group sessions will be held and hundreds of thousands of dollars for extra security will be paid. Still, a lot of people, especially those who are direct targets of his racist and xenophobic messages, are scared. If you’re not scared, you’re lucky.
While I think, and hope, most of us can agree this situation is indescribably horrible, we are a little more contentious when it comes to how we should deal with it. Some of us want to board up our apartment windows, log off Facebook and stay as far from campus as possible. Some of us want to (peaceably) yell like hell and make our voices heard from right outside. Some of us want to take a long weekend and drive home to pet our dogs.
Here’s the thing: All of these options are completely valid. We have to remember in the face of this hate in our home, we’re the only ones who can decide the best way to get through the day. If you want to exercise your right to protest, do it. If you want to exercise your right to try to have a normal day and pretend this isn’t happening, do it. Unless you’re choosing violence, don’t let anyone tell you your choice is wrong. We should all be careful not to turn against each other, and instead, stand strong against the real enemy.
What you do is up to you, but I have to make one small suggestion. Whether you’re painting your protest signs or locking your doors Wednesday night, take a second and ask yourself how you can make Thursday a little better for someone else. Whatever you have planned for the day, factor in five minutes to do something kind.
Paying for someone’s coffee or donating to your friend’s fundraising page won’t make the white supremacist, and whatever comes with him, leave. Giving someone a ride home won’t make them forget that intolerance has been given a platform at their school. Holding a door won’t erase the fact that someone who believes that immigration is ruining the country will be speaking on the exact same stage that my Latino dance team recently won a multicultural talent competition.
There’s going to be pain, and it’s going to be real. But we aren’t powerless.
On Thursday, we have the power to remind each other this school, and this world, has more good in it than bad. We can show each other that love outnumbers and outshines hate. Maybe you can’t change the world in one day, but you can change how someone sees it, even if only for a minute. Acts of kindness won’t fix everything, but they’ll each be a small step in the right direction.
Finally, don’t forget that Friday, Spencer and his supporters will be gone, and we will still be here — learning, growing, dancing, drinking, procrastinating, making memes and cheering on our terrible football team. Let’s be kind to each other Thursday and remember: We aren’t going anywhere.
Carly Breit is a UF journalism senior. Her column appears on Wednesdays.
