This reminds me of Octavia Butler's inspiration for her novel Kindred. She had a friend in college who she looked up to for his knowledge of Black History. But he once made a comment about killing all the Black people who were holding them back by their going along with racism, "but I'd have to start with my own parents." Butler thought of her mother, who put up with all sorts of abuse working as a maid for rich white people, so that her daughter could have a chance for a better life.

For all our bluster and condemnation of other people in other times and places, what would we ourselves really do if we were in that time and place? So, Kindred was about a modern Black woman thrown back into the time of slavery. In that context, just surviving was an act of resistance.

Today, we all seem ready to throw the first stone by "cancelling" people we don't approve of. What if we focus on their actions, instead of the person, in the context of the situation; and instead of negative condemnation, point out a better way to treat each other.