I think it could be the fact that we live in the social media ‘influencer’ age, but it seems like there is a pressure—self-inflicted, from the outside, or both—for influencers in a particular arena, to have an opinion on every matter in every arena all the time, forever and ever.
It’s just not possible.
The past three articles I’ve written are not because I licked my finger, stuck it to the wind, and started typing. It comes from 13+ years of learning, meeting people, reading, asking questions, weighing between things, discussing, debating, visiting, and more. Of those 13 years, about 4 of them were spent doing all of those things quietly. In those years, there were many moments of being “gut-punched” as I like to call it. Those are moments when someone, usually in debate, says something I had never heard of, and it makes me question my stance. Those moments were uncomfortable, but would always make me stronger, as I would study more, ask more questions, and usually, make new relationships that would, in themselves, do away with my doubts.
It was my friendship with Ethiopian Israeli Jews that helped me to experience firsthand how diverse the community is, but how there is generally a very strong and deep love for their country. If I had just read the majority of articles floating around the internet, I may have thought they simply hate Israel as much as far left Black Americans hate America. I would have totally superimposed my western way of thinking onto another country and preached it to others.
My friendship with my first Ethiopian Israeli, Orit, was one that first opened my eyes and made me realize that I knew almost nothing about the Ethiopian Jews except that they made it back to Israel after millennia.
I met Orit back in 2012 or 2013, and our friendship, and the friendships that followed are what made me realize many things, but two in particular:
My generation of Ethiopian Israelis pull no punches when it comes to deep problems they see in their country.
Ethiopian Israelis are some of the most patriotic and Zionist Israelis I’ve ever met.
Seeing this dichotomy play out over and over again helped shape my worldview in a huge way.
So one can imagine my frustration when I, stumbling and struggling through this journey, look up and see someone with my skin tone telling me I don’t know what I’m talking about because “you should see how much Ethiopians hate Israel.” You can imagine my anger when someone’s rebuttal to me is to send me a quote from one of my friends, out of context and say “see?! You need to open your eyes, brother.”
It’s a game to them. It’s a very peculiar but beautiful part of my life to me; with beautiful people who have a tattered, but beautiful story that are the most fascinating stories I’ve ever known. Figuring out how to share the beauty of it all with others has been the most difficult task over the years, and mainly because I had to learn, and am still learning sometimes, that some people just don’t care. I’ve accepted that (I think). My blood boils harder however, when I see those same people parachute in when it’s convenient for them, defecate on everything, and then parachute out when the trend is over.
When I look at those people, I see myself without having met Orit. I see myself without having someone like my father to guide and help me. I see myself without having had this enlightening conversation with my good friend Yaffa Tegegne, daughter of the legendary Baruch Tegegne. I see a very arrogant, sophisticated wannabe with more concern about how smart they look when they talk than about whether or not what they’re saying is true. Furthermore, I’ve also found that when it comes to these issues, they’re fair-weather activists. They don’t take time to learn when the topic isn’t trending or sexy at the moment. They just hop in after looking at video and reading an article to project their Western worldview onto a culture they know nothing about. In this 13+ year time for me, I’ve gotten a glimpse for myself how much I still do not know.
It is important to take time to absorb what needs to be absorbed. Not everything we experience is supposed to be for everyone at least right away, and that is ok.
I will say this however: if you choose to speak up, you’d better know that you know where you stand. Even if you’re standing in the wrong place, be honest about where you are. Be an honest thinker. Honest thinkers will find their way eventually. Just don’t play the ‘how-can-I-talk-about-this-without-losing-followers-but-still-looking-like-I-care-enough'' game. In other words, don’t virtue signal. You will misrepresent an entire people. And you may also find yourself attempting to silence the very people you are claiming to represent just so that you can look a certain way to the general public.
At that point, you’re just using your platform, no matter how big or small, to play fake games with real lives.
…and that will come back on you.