We are not all equally harmed but we are all harmed

The devastation I have been feeling at a cellular level in my body this week is a recall of my personal journey of grief as I realized that aligning with whiteness (as a system, not a people) was not going to keep me safe, and that any privileges I gained by aligning with whiteness were not for my benefit but for the purposes of oppressing others.

I remember sobbing at my desk one afternoon as I fully realized the impact of this betrayal. This realization ultimately lead me to the work I do now.

Any form of supremacy is inherently violent not just to the oppressed but also to the oppressor. We are not all equally harmed but we are all harmed.

When we can only see how we are oppressed and not how we are oppressors, we do violence not just to others but to ourselves.

The experience of growing up colonized is embedded in my DNA at this point. But healing doesn’t have to be about geography. We can decolonize our minds and find spiritual (not religious) freedom.

It’s an ongoing journey and certainly I would not say I have divested from whiteness completely.

But small shifts can create ripples out into the universe and create change we will never even know of.

And eventually, although not in our lifetimes, the world will change - the direction is up to us.

Banner photo by Maksim Shutov on Unsplash

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