Like many bloggers, I’m not posting my normal content this week. 2020 has been a whirlwind of trauma across the globe and it’s difficult to process all the devastation this year has thrust upon us.

Working full time from home the past few months has brought a heightened insight into how little I feel able to maintain awareness on at any given time. I became overwhelmed and devastated by the constant barrage of violence, racism, sexism, sexual assault, appalling leadership, political failings, and superficial entitlement of this country, trying to protect my own emotional bandwidth and mental sanity by shutting out as much as I can. The recent murder of George Floyd ripped apart my flawed logic, realizing that wrapping myself in a metaphorical blanket burrito isn’t going to change anything, but only serves to propagate the pain and suffering.

I don’t think there’s anything I can say that hasn’t been said by someone substantially more knowledgable, impactful, and eloquent than I am, but I encourage all my fellow white readers to listen, to learn, to embrace our role and responsibility in effecting real change. I live in a overwhelmingly white community but I personally spend a lot of time and energy asking for help and inciting action around improving gender diversity in tech; I know how burnt out and drained I am trying to fix a systemic problem that, at the end of the day, is wildly superficial compared to the day-to-day of the Black American community. To my Black readers, I cannot fathom the sheer exhaustion you are all facing, the anger at how little has really changed, and the frustration with systemic problems in every facet of your lives.

I don’t think I’ve done enough to call myself an ally, yet, but I am taking this time to read, to listen, to learn, to donate, and to consider my place in the solutions to these problems. I encourage you to do the same.

-Lindsey