.
.
A mere 2 weeks ago it would have been hard to conceive of a world that was about to heat up considerably beyond the tension and emotion already experienced in 2020.
Then came the murder of George Floyd. Since then, I, living in Los Angeles, have watched the United States – and beyond – reach a boiling point on race issues. It’s a dark time, and yet it also feels like a time where real change could be possible.
I find myself asking of what service I can possibly be. Another weekend rolls around, my weekly video spot awaits my thoughts, and I have no clever words chambered.
It doesn’t feel like the week for a love life video. And yet it does feel like a week where I want to be with you, my community, more than ever. I ask politely that you not confuse that with my having any answers.
All I have is me, letting the Black members of my community know what I have always felt – that I consider you my sisters and brothers, and that I, Matthew Hussey, stand with you, always.
The fact that Black lives “mattering” is even an idea that needs support in the year 2020 is an astonishing prospect.
But to all the Black members of this community, let the bloody obvious be stated here and now: My team and I love you, and you matter to us.
To brighter days.
For anyone interested I have included a list below of organizations I have chosen to support with donations this week. **In addition, when we first posted this video this morning, I had it demonetized out of respect so as not to profit from this video. However many of you pointed out in the comments that it would be better to have ads turned on and have the revenue go to the cause. I love the idea, so I have, and 100% of the proceeds from this video will also be donated to the causes below.
1- My Brother’s Keeper Alliance
https://www.obama.org/mbka/
2- Center for Policing Equity
https://policingequity.org
3- Equal Justice Initiative
https://eji.org
4- NAACP
https://www.naacp.org
5- The Girls Opportunity Alliance Fund
https://www.obama.org/girlsopportunit…
Transcript provided by YouTube:
00:00
the United States is reeling with the
00:02
murder of George Floyd and the
00:06
consequent boiling point that has been
00:10
reached in America and beyond over race
00:14
issues the oppression and the violence
00:17
towards black people which of course is
00:19
nothing new has been going on for a very
00:22
very long time but seems to have reached
00:26
I suppose not even a new level of
00:29
awareness because I can only imagine the
00:33
frustration of the black community and
00:34
knowing that these images are put
00:36
forward time and again and nothing gets
00:38
done but does seem to have reached a
00:42
different crescendo in terms of the the
00:44
chord that it’s struck with people at
00:47
scale I have thought long and hard this
00:52
week about what to do with this week’s
00:56
video about what I wanted to say about
00:59
what I could possibly say that wouldn’t
01:01
sound trite and cliché and I spoke to
01:08
black friends of mine this week I spoke
01:10
to a friend of mine Darien for two hours
01:13
this week
01:14
where he told me we don’t just want to
01:18
hear a repetition of the narrative that
01:20
we know so well he said this violence
01:22
has been happening to us our whole lives
01:24
it’s just that white people are now
01:26
being affected emotionally by the
01:28
violence that has been happening
01:29
physically to black people I also am so
01:33
aware of the risk that people like
01:35
myself run of simply jumping on the
01:39
bandwagon of something because it’s
01:40
popular to do so and the last thing I
01:44
want to do is trade on the attention
01:46
that this moment has created and do
01:48
something just because it’s expected or
01:51
just because it feels like the thing to
01:54
do everything I do everything I’ve done
01:56
over the last 12 years I have strived to
01:59
do with intention and with authenticity
02:02
and I see this as no different and in
02:06
the interests of being authentic I don’t
02:11
exactly know what to say about this
02:14
I’m out of my depth in talking about
02:17
these issues I certainly don’t
02:20
understand them I’m working to I I have
02:25
always felt that one of my greatest
02:27
strengths in life one of my natural
02:28
gifts is empathy
02:30
and yet how could anyone understand
02:33
having not lived that life of both overt
02:37
racism and subtle undercurrents of
02:40
racism that are faced daily by people in
02:42
the black community that is something
02:45
that we can only begin to connect to
02:48
through hearing these stories through
02:50
seeing these videos and through talking
02:53
to people and listening the great skill
02:57
that is needed right now of truly
03:00
listening what would pain me is to think
03:04
that black people in our community
03:07
people who watch me every week think
03:10
that I am not there for them think that
03:13
I am not showing up for you think that I
03:14
am NOT sitting with you in some way and
03:19
so I thought let’s just take this week’s
03:20
video not for me to give advice not for
03:22
me to pretend I can be an expert in any
03:26
way on this or come along with some
03:28
really intelligent insight but simply to
03:31
say I love you and I am here for you and
03:34
I know that you are on an emotional
03:37
roller coaster through this time that I
03:39
cannot possibly comprehend but that
03:42
doesn’t mean I can’t be there with you
03:45
in some way that I can’t just as in a
03:48
relationship we don’t always understand
03:50
the thing that our partner brings us
03:51
they could bring us a family issue they
03:53
could bring us an issue from work they
03:55
could bring us a health issue none of
03:57
which we can fully understand or solve
04:00
but we can still sit in the room with
04:03
them we don’t need to leave the room and
04:04
be silent one of the things that I get
04:06
messages on all the time when it comes
04:08
to people’s love lives is the idea of
04:10
gaslighting that the person they’re with
04:12
makes them feel crazy for the thing that
04:14
they’re upset about for the thing that
04:16
they see very clearly is wrong in that
04:18
person’s behavior but their partner is
04:21
making them feel crazy for saying it’s
04:23
wrong that they’re being over-reactive
04:26
that they’re being difficult
04:27
seeing things that are not there it is a
04:30
nasty nasty thing that is done in
04:32
relationships that makes people feel
04:34
like they’re crazy i watch david Goggins
04:36
this week make a video about the
04:38
experiences that he had growing up the
04:40
racist experiences that he had and how
04:44
when he wrote them in his book as an
04:46
adult there were people from his past
04:47
that made him feel crazy that made him
04:49
feel like they never happened that he
04:50
was exaggerating and how crazy making
04:53
that was for him as disgusting and as
04:56
horrible as these videos we’re seeing
04:58
are I can’t help but be grateful for the
05:02
fact that we are seeing them that we’re
05:03
being made to feel this uncomfortable
05:06
because these things are inarguable they
05:08
are undisputable they are wrong they are
05:11
a disgrace and it’s time for for me and
05:16
for people like me to check their egos
05:19
and to listen to not be defensive when
05:22
we’re being told these things when it’s
05:24
being revealed to us the ways that we
05:25
have ignored things the ways that we
05:28
have stayed silent on things but to
05:31
check our egos and be brave enough to
05:33
relinquish our story of how wonderful we
05:36
think we’ve been and to understand what
05:40
we can do to do better to take on new
05:43
ideas about how we can proactively make
05:46
things better and how we can learn more
05:48
about what the experience still is for
05:51
so many how so many people in this world
05:55
are having such a disgraceful and
05:58
uncivilized experience of our apparently
06:01
civilized modern world for those of you
06:05
listening right now watching this who
06:07
are black members of my community I love
06:10
you I’m with you I am in your corner and
06:13
I don’t know how to contribute on the
06:17
level that I want I don’t know how to
06:18
solve this and clearly very few people
06:21
do I don’t know what the answers are but
06:23
I know I love you and I know that I am
06:25
so so grateful that you are here and I
06:30
hope that you’ll leave a comment either
06:32
letting me and other people like me know
06:36
where we should put our attention right
06:38
now what books we should be reading what
06:40
voices we should be listening
06:41
– and perhaps most importantly of all
06:44
what your story is I know that it’s an
06:47
intensely vulnerable thing to leave a
06:49
comment that talks about yourself and
06:51
your story especially when it relates to
06:53
raise issues but I know that we would be
06:56
grateful to read it I know I will be I
06:58
will be reading them every single one of
07:00
them and listening to everything you
07:02
have to say so I’m here to learn I’m
07:05
here to listen and I’m grateful for
07:07
anything that you can share with me to
07:08
help me do that I’ll see you next week
07:18
[Music]
07:24
[Music]
07:32
[Music]
07:39
[Music]
—
This post was previously published on YouTube.
—
***
If you believe in the work we are doing here at The Good Men Project and want to join our calls on a regular basis, please join us as a Premium Member, today.
All Premium Members get to view The Good Men Project with NO ADS.
Need more info? A complete list of benefits is here.
Talk to you soon.
—
Photo credit: Screenshot from video