sometimes i doubt if i have a place in activism anymore. wanting to run away, become a cavedwellinghermit isn’t because i lack the desire to see everyone as a leader of their own lives. i haven’t lost that fire in my belly-it still rages like a prairie fire. i can still see the great amount of change that needs to be accomplished. i am still fully capable of the fight, but i am not capable of jumping through hoops to find my place in a world that i have been apart of since i was 10. the divisions i see in the people i should be calling comrade is scary, and honestly i don’t know how to navigate anymore.
in a time when we need to put down our differences and come together i see more conflict and more alienating than anytime in my history. i will not deny that there are some that have had privilege and power. and there are many conversations that need to happen, but we are not having conversations across lines-we are simply gathering amongst those who resemble us the most and building walls. this is not equality, it is segregation and will soon become annihilation for all of us.
once a friend of mine told me that she didn’t feel she belonged as an active member of the lgbtq++ movement because she herself is straight. she used the word “interloper”. i was dumbfounded that for some reason she felt as though her participation in the fight for basic human rights was somehow lessened by the fact that she, personally, is married to a man. but now the word “interloper” is all i can use to describe myself when i look at the movement of resistance.
there are some heavy things that we need to work on, and they are valid. The destruction of heteronormative domination, racial inequalities, male dominated gender roles, body shaming, etc etc etc, but right now is not the time to point fingers. i hate to say it but cynicism and skepticism are making those of us in the “world of other than white anglo-saxon protestant of power” easy pickins. a white cis male comrade is not the enemy-he is a comrade. we shouldn’t have to give our action resume or our personal bios complete with demographics to show that we are worthy of joining up.
there were so many people who have steered clear of participating in one human rights action or another because they don’t fit the bill of political correctness enough. so many women of color refused to participate in the march on washington because it was orchestrated by mostly white women. so many white women didn’t show up because there was a back-
voices from white trash
-grace