Mar 24, 2005 20:53
"If you are a woman, a person of color, if you are gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered, if you are a person of size, a person of intelligence, a person of integrity, than you are considered a minority in this world.
And its going to be really hard to find messages of self love and support anywhere. Its all about how you have to look a certain way or else you are worthless.
You know when you look in the mirror and you think "Oh I'm so fat, I'm so old, I'm so ugly"? Don't you know that is not your authentic self? But that is billions upon billions of dollars of advertising, magazines, movies, billboards, all geared to make you feel shitty about yourself so that you will go take your hard earned money on some turn around cream that doesn't turn around shit.
When you don't have self esteem, you will hesitate before you do anything in your life. You will hesitate to go for the job that you really want to go for. You will hesitate to ask for a raise. You will hesitate to call yourself an American. You will hesitate to report a rape. You will hesitate to defend yourself when you are discriminated against because of your race, your sexuality, your size, your gender. You will hesitate to vote, you will hesitate to dream.
For us to have self esteem is truly an act of revolution. And our revolution is long overdue.
I urge you all today, especially today in these times of terrorism and chaos to love yourselves without reservation, and to love each other without restraint." CHO