Chattanooga Pulse

Written by Dr. Rick Pimental-Habib, Ph.D
Wednesday, 20 August 2008 20:08
Learning to speak out, for yourself and others

I saw a wonderful bumper sticker at Riverbend this summer. It read: “Speak your mind, even if your voice quivers.”

I thought, Right on! I liked this because speaking one’s mind is, to me, a self-esteem issue. Far too often that the oppressed, downtrodden, and belittled do not speak their minds (nor do they have anyone speaking for them). Why would they? They’ve been stepped on all their lives. With enough input telling you that you’re not worth listening to, that you’re a second-class citizen, that you have nothing to offer, well, gee-I guess you’ll learn to keep your head down and your mouth shut.

So the black person who’s taught that he can’t go to college and make something of himself-won’t.

So the gay person who’s taught that he doesn’t deserve to have his long-term, committed relationship recognized in the eyes of the law or the church-will believe that his is less of a valid relationship than others’.