State sanctioned violence against BIPOC communities, and the resistance to a system that props up white supremeacy is all over the news. While the violence against black communities is especially lethal in the US, racism doesn’t stop at borders. There is anti-racism work to do in many other places, including in the Netherlands.
Nuclear weapons are an expression of ultimate violence. Throughout history they’ve been tested on communities perceived to have less political power- from Aboriginals to the Kazakhs to the Shoshone. Nuclear weapons prop up systems of inequality and injustice.
The myths that prop up opressive power structures need to be dismantled. That work starts at home. When it comes to understanding and dismantling systemic racism- listening, and believing, the lived experiences of others is just the first step. Learning and examining one’s own role in supporting systems of injustice and inequality comes next. That’s not easy work, but it’s necessary. Just as its necessary for the Dutch government to reject nuclear weapons- a tool of oppression- once and for all and join the ban treaty.
If not now, when? If not us, who?