Deep breath. Slow, in and out. Let go of the tension. Calm the nerves. Allow my cortisol levels to drop… Steady. Grounding. Coming back to the moment I’m in. It’s going to be alright…
If I took the time to do this for five minutes everytime I read about or experienced an injustice which directly impacts me (much less the ones I read about and witness others who are less privileged than myself endure) I would be in a constant state of meditation. I would live the life of a monk. I would never be able to stop paying attention to my breath and body. Understandably, there are many days I don’t have the bandwidth to post about or speak on the subjects I find demeaning and unfair.
I am exhausted that so rarely people who aren’t directly targeted by a particular social issue speak up about it on my or other’s behalves.
When someone is hit by a car they are generally not the one calling 911 and managing the scene of the accident. If you were lying there, trying not to paralyze yourself, focusing on managing your broken physicality, amped up emotions, and fearful mind until help gets to you, other people—people who were not directly effected by the accident, and perhaps the person responsible for the harm—are the people who manage response. They are the people who call for help, who ask you if you’re ok, who make sure that whatever information needs to be gathered is being taken care of, and that you are out of further harm’s way.
For some reason racism, sexism, and other human rights issues are only treated when the victims of these crimes take responsibility for everything related to response and cleanup of the crime—even to the point of educating perpetrators and managing their resistance to compliance within our social order. There are so many problems with the world that we live in, this cannot continue to be the way we make meaning or allocate our resources.
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Racism: Anyone and everyone harbors bigotry somewhere inside. It is every individual’s job to examine their personal issues and learn to grow and share this planet we live on. Because our country (and the world) is a place which has hundreds of years of institutionalized bigotry directed specifically at nonwhite people (therefore unfairly, disproportionately, and over generations exponentially profiting white people), racism cannot be thought of as anything other than a problem for white people to examine and solve. Consider it a disease if that helps, and seek treatment. We white people must educate ourselves about what to do in situations where racism is evident (and to see evidence of racism), regardless of whether or not people of color are present. We must challenge ourselves when we are called out, and begin to see the racism we ourselves perpetuate. Until white folk are as clear about what oppression looks like as the oppressed are, racism and the enculturation of violence by it shall persist. As long as there is institutionalized bigotry, every single white person will profit off of racist behaviors in one way or another. We should not want those things.
Sexism: See “racism” above. Apply to sex and gender based bigotry.
Abortion Access: AMAB folk, and people not able to get pregnant must speak up in favor of bodily autonomy for women and AFAB people who risk both wanted and unwanted pregnancies. Not only does the law in the United States state that abortion is a private medical matter, but access to abortion is protected until and, in cases that threaten the life of the mother, through the third trimester. Access to safe abortion is an issue which directly effects ONLY marginalized populations. Not a single person who can get pregnant is of the highest and most privileged ruling class. Something to think about: what does it mean if you support taking a marginalized person’s bodily autonomy away from them?
Anti-Choice: If you are anti-choice because you believe yourself to be pro-life, that is entirely your own right, and please do not have any abortions. I beg of you to follow your heart entirely in such matters. In the meantime, it’s obviously a primary directive of yours to ensure that all children who are born have access to affordable healthcare and medication, healthy food and nourishment, safe housing, and safe family situations or adequate alternative parental support. It’s clear that you care deeply about access to top tier education for all regardless of class, and honest discussions about sex alongside comprehensive (definitely not abstinence only) sexuality education offered to young people. It’s wonderful that you voted for increased state funding for easy access to free birth control, as this method has proven to drastically lower the rate of teen pregnancy, as well as the rate of individuals under 30 seeking abortions—yay! I assume you rally as hard against the school-to-prison system as you do Planned Parenthood, as prisons rob families of two-parent households and the income they need to rear children sufficiently in alignment with the wild abandon you celebrate every embryo’s right to life. Thank you for being so active and vocal in the fight against immigrant children being taken away from their parents, and being as intolerant of detention centers as you are. I really appreciate all of the hours and money you pour into anti-gun violence legislation, your sincere efforts to keep weapons out of schools, and your pledge to keep all children who have been born safe, healthy, out of abject poverty potentially leading to a life of crime, and alive.
Immigration: No people came to this piece of land we call the United States seeking home because they weren’t looking for a better life. The white people who first colonized this land did so violently, and it is not acceptable that we continue perpetuating their inherited violence onto those who would peacefully do only what our forefathers, foremothers, and forezaddies have already accomplished. Waging a war primarily on brown people in the name of protecting our country is unconstitutional and definitely unpatriotic. US citizens: we must do better. Our national birthrate is dropping, and the economy requires an influx of working citizens to sustain itself and keep up growth.
Orientation, Sex, and Gender Diversity: Who the fuck cares about defining the private bodies or affections of others? If you find that you do, I implore you to get a job so that you might have less time to squander on such trivialities. To what end does disrespecting someone else’s stated pronouns or other identifiers benefit you in any possible way? If you’re not LGBT or genderqueer, what possible stake might you have in denying someone their pronouns or preferred name within conversation? Why do you care who “Jess” brings to the company picnic, as long as their +1 offers up a delicious peach pie? These are not brain surgeon level complications regarding the work of adulting. Get the fuck over your personal shit and act like a community member and fellow individual. At least fake-it-till-you-make-it as a well adjusted human being for the sake of the rest of us.
Sexual Appetites and Relationship Styles: Since when is someone else’s relationship style or interest in various sexual or sensual activities (between consenting adults) any of your nevermind?! If you aren’t being pulled into a scene you don’t want to be a part of, it’s not your goddamn right to act out about it. If someone is pulling you into something that feels uncomfortable: you’re an adult. State your boundaries, negotiate shared space if you must, and move along for Lilith’s sake. I believe in you. If you are an employer you certainly don’t need to know about any of these things, however if you are privy to privileged information you certainly shouldn’t be running a business based off of someone else’s afterwork bedroom/kitchen/dungeon plans. I absolutely believe in your ability to effectively compartmentalize—how else did you ever become a boss to begin with?!
Human and Sex Trafficking: Shame and classism are primary ways we institutionally regulate people’s access to healthy sexual expression and response, as well as to social status including upward mobility. If this wasn’t the case I’m pretty sure trafficking would be MUCH less prevalent worldwide. Children, women, and other people unwilling to share their bodies with you should never be put into situations leading to abuse and enslavement. Do your due diligence when contracting illicit work from a marginalized person, make sure they are not under someone else’s control. Learn to report trafficking where you actually find it.
Sex Work: Speaking of demand for service… those people who participate in the workforce surrounding consensual sex and sexuality, are people who have some stake in the healing of sexual wounds and shame—not only their client’s, but in some cases their own as well. What happens between two consenting adults within a respectfully negotiated sexual/sensual scene, even when money is involved, is not the business of anyone who isn’t participating. People engaged in sex work should be protected just as enthusiastically as people of any other workforce are. Don’t contribute to violence against sex workers through your own words and behaviors.
Rape: Stop trying to control others. Your sexual release is your job to advocate responsibly for. Masturbation is your friend and well within your means. Self love is an important step toward treating others equally. Rapists should definitely not have their sentences forgiven because being convicted of rape is embarrassing. Rape could be understood as a crime which fucks up the lives of perpetrators exponentially more than that of their victims… Let’s get with the program.
Abuse: Be the end of abuse by breaking the abuse cycle. Get help if you’ve been affected. Get help and learn not to abuse if you’ve perpetrated. Evolve. The only way to heal the world of the poisons we’ve ingested is by turning our knowledge of adversity into motivation to become the sort of person who’s able to hold space for the complicated reality of humaning as it effects others who are in need. We can do epically more positive work in our lives when we examine and heal from our own maltreatments and misfortunes.
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This is the end of my rant today… I’m sure it’s evident that my bandwidth is pretty low right now. I’m angry. I’m hurt and I’m furious. I’m mortified and deeply sorrowful. I’m impassioned and I will not step aside. We must look at the wrongs ourselves and our communities perpetuate, and we must each commit to furthering the (r)evolutionary: positive growth, peaceful coexistence, and radically humane change.
Play On My Friends,
~ Creature
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