(Published on Patreon June 5, 2019)
Firstly: deepest apologies for having missed two blog posts - I've been transitioning from one semester, into a new (and intensive) job, and then just started a new semester. Thank you for bearing with me! ♥ Sometimes I might forget to whip one of these up or may be at a loss for what I should write. SO! If anyone has an ideas, questions, queries, or whatever - lay it on me, it helps! ^_^
I think, today, we will talk about my catch phrases! I have a bunch that I regularly use - whether that be to introduce a topic in discourse or discussion, in education, or in conversation. So I figured, why not lay some of them out here!
Impact is greater than intent.
Sometimes we hurt someone. We may not mean to, that is not our intent, it is what happens - it is the impact. When we accidentally bump into someone and hurt them, we do not: blame the person we harmed, make excuses for ourselves, center our own feelings, or anything of the like. Instead, we apologize and we learn to be more careful, to be more aware. This applies in the ways we behave and we speak. We are all problematic, we have learned and enforced behaviors (that are systemic, systematic, institutional, and historical). I don't demand nor expect everyone to be an activist or a social justice warrior, but I do expect respect, consideration, compassion and awareness. The impacts of what we do (and the harm we may cause) outweigh our intentions.
I do not play the oppression olympics.
No one person's experienced oppression is worse than another person's experienced oppression - whether they feature similarly or not at all. All oppression occurs at the same time, are all different, and cannot be quantified as "worse than the other". This where intersectionality comes in. Approaches to oppression must be intersectional in that we must be aware that oppression occurs over a variety of axis, simultaneously, and therefore there is no one nor general solution that will work. A person, such as myself, can be both an oppressor and oppressed. We do not all start out nor work on the same level playing field. A flat out solution of simple equality does not work - it must be equitable. Each solution and approach must be unique to each axis of oppression.
Yes all "X".
Yes all men. Yes all white people. Yes all cis. Etc. When I say this, I am referring to the idea that, yes, all members of these oppressor groups do in fact perpetuate that oppression. Yes, all men perpetuate sexism and misogyny. Yes, all white people perpetuate racism, colonialism, and white supremacy. Yes, all cis people perpetuate transphobia, cisnormativity, and bioessentialism.
That can be A Lot (TM). I understand many people find this difficult to digest. But the reality is that we are all born into these systems and these institutions. We are all socialized, learned, and have these ideologies and behaviors enforced. Drawing back to the previous to "catch phrases", I, as a white person, inherently gain privilege and implicitly perpetuate racism, colonialism, and white supremacy. I may not intend to, but that is my impact. Many of these perpetuations may not appear to be overt or obvious to myself and other white folks (ie. microaggressions, normalized oppression, covert oppression, etc), but the impact is still there and it is real. I, as a white person, will forever be unlearning and unpacking my whiteness. This applies in the same way to groups such as men and cis folks.
And when I talk about these groups and oppression, I am referring to oppressor classes, what they do, and what they represent. Very rarely do I ever mean specific groups or individuals.
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Let me know if this worked or did not work for you! If anyone has any questions, comments, or concerns - don't be afraid to reach out~ ♥