Without Justice there is only anger

Hello, this is Julian Sander. If you are here then you are probably interested in art and culture and discourse. Maybe you are a follower of my regular live broadcast about gallery life. I would like to offer you the regular experience of looking through my galleries website and delving into the information we have here about the artists and artworks we love. Today I cannot.

I was born in Germany, but I grew up in Washington DC. between 1975 and 1994 my primary residence was the DC area. I have very many dear friends who live(ed) there. I hate using race as an identifier because it so often brings up the taint of racism. By calling a person “black” I am separating them from myself who is “white.” This has always been and continues to be a challenge because the fundamental understanding must be that every person is of equal value everywhere. The “poor” person and the “rich” person, the “jewish” person and the “muslim” person, the “lgbtq” person and the “christian” person are all people. But in these times I must use these abhorrent identifiers to reach the audience of those who are not yet capable of embracing this universal truth that we are all humans and all of us, particularly right now, have a need for justice.

Governor Cuomo spoke about the chapters in the book of injustice against the black american population. He stands with the protestors. Where there is no justice there is no peace. The USA has a grievous history of injustice. I grew up in the USA after the race riots. I felt the bloody wounds of that age heal as a child growing up in a city which is, to this day, a proud home to a majority population of black americans. These are my friends. These are my family. These are the people I worry about when I hear that there is social unrest and I see a video of the Minneapolis police shooting people with rubber bullets for standing on their balcony filming.

Justice is needed.

In the 1930’s the NSDAP very effectively used a combination of fear and propaganda to facilitate the genocide of millions of people in concentration camps in Germany. The principle was to create enough fear that you, the reader of the news, would be scared enough for your own safety that you would not step in to help your neighbour. One by one the city blocks were cleared of the undesired and soon there were no more instances which would cause you to fear. You ended up being rewarded for not acting because you had an emotional gain in the feeling of safety after the scare. Some of the methods being used in the USA resemble these methods.

16% of the visitors to this site come from the USA, so the rest of you may be asking why I am writing this here where 84% may feel this does not effect you. It does effect you. It effects everyone. Every time injustice happens and is not met with a justified rebuke it give power and authority to all others who would do the same. There is no them. There is only us. If Covid19 has taught us anything, it is that. We are a single species, a single race of people who’s differences are comprised of ideas and opinions and locations. Those of us who cannot let others live without forcing them to agree to our ideas are part of the problem. Are you part of the problem? Am I?

As much as I would like to continue to just sell art here at my gallery, or try to considering all the pandemic restrictions, I cannot march along as if nothing is happening. This page is what I can do. It is not much, but maybe other galleries, other artists, other businesses will understand that there is a greater issue at hand.

We are sick with the injustice of a part of us. We need to fix that. Without justice there is only anger.

Here are some links to sites I find may be helpful:

I am reachable via the usual channels. call, email or come visit.

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