Read on Twitter
I used to be a fragile little white cis snowflake. I'd see something tweeted in anger or frustration about white ppl, or cis ppl, and get my dander up. 'Not me, though! I'm a good one - an ally!'
Tbqh, my feelings got hurt.
Here's the thing, though...
Tbqh, my feelings got hurt.
Here's the thing, though...
...Instead of replying straight from my bruised little ego, I listened. I read more. I sat with that discomfort & asked what I could be doing differently to be more helpful to the causes of justice & liberation...
...What I most definitely didn't do is make my commitment to those causes - my efforts towards allyship - conditional on my feelings not being hurt. I can feel bad on my own time, though I try not to. Wallowing in guilt is self-indulgent & unhelpful...
...Marginalized ppl live lives I cannot conceive of. Their very humanity is questioned every fucking day, both by those who are actively hateful, and by those who profess allyship, but who are uninterested in sacrificing even one modicum of their own comfort towards allyship...
...Don't tell marginalized ppl how to feel. Don't tell them to modify their expressions of those feelings for your benefit, nor for the benefit of some imagined potential allies who you think will be 'put off' by such sentiments.
Grow the fuck up...
Grow the fuck up...
...YOU are claiming allyship. It's YOUR job to clarify for those ppl, to provide resources, to challenge bigotry, or to put your body between those you claim allyship with and those who would harm them. That's what the job is. Don't like it? Fuck off & take your feelings with you
PS: if you show up in someone's mentions looking for an allyship cookie, you can piss off too.
