Courtesy Photo-Claretta Duckett Freeman
An adult bully is very dangerous. Especially if they have any input on your career or passion. There are folks in this city beholden to a bully because he has access to money and influence across our state.
I was bullied a lot as a child because I didn’t want to come across as a troublemaker. I was afraid that people would see me as a bad kid. One day I pushed a bully back and then we had a fight. I thought I was going to get in so much trouble. But I had already built a reputation of being an honest and well behaved child. When I finally “misbehaved”, all the authority figures in my life realized that something was very wrong.
As an adult, it was pretty much the same way for me. I tried my best to be honest and to follow the rules. But there are times when you cannot allow a bully to continue to do harm especially when they are doing harm to people who are not strong enough to fight back. I am no longer afraid of looking bad because I know who I am and the good work I have done. I might break some unwritten rules but that is because circumstances dictate I push back.
I understand that a lot of politicians in Lansing are afraid to stand up because they could lose money and they could lose influence that would help their career and help their community. The end does not justify the means. I am encouraging our leaders to lean into the good reputation that they have built. Your supporters know that you have a good heart and they will rally behind you. We cannot continue to allow a bully to control our Black leaders. This bully forces them to support him even when he is doing harm to Black people. There is no amount of money or influence that could repair the distrust that is sowed into the Black community when you allow that to happen. Let’s take Lansing back and vote out the bullies.
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