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End-of-Year-Survey 2023
1. What did you do in 2023 that you'd never done before?
I got an ADHD assessment after thinking about it for over a year. It was expensive, but when I found out it was partially covered through my private insurance, I decided to go for it. They gave me a brain scan and had me to do three hours of different tests, then they came back and told me ( Read more... ) -
End of Year Survey 2020
In all the years I’ve been doing this, I’m not sure if I’ve ever waited until January 28th of the following year to complete the End of Year Survey. But 2020 has not been a typical year, and the end of it was particularly tumultuous, not only on a global scale, but also personally.
For those of you reading at some vague future date, it’s important ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #27: You and Losing Privilege
In this chapter, Layla F. Saad says, “Over the last twenty-six days, you have explored what that [white] privilege means in ways that you have probably never done before. You have been able to see how your privilege has harmed BIPOC. You will also have begun to realize that in order for change to happen, you must lose some of that privilege.”
( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #26: You and Your Values
Layla F. Saad says, “Owning white supremacy and being conditioned by the system of white supremacy mean that you have some subconscious values that are white supremacist in nature. These values actually clash with other consciously chosen values that you have.”
Her first question is then, “To what extent have your values helped your ability to ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #25: You and Your Family
This is the hardest day of the entire challenge. Layla F. Saad’s first question is, “How do you feel about speaking up about racism and white supremacist beliefs and actions to your family members?”
For me, the most difficult aspect of doing this is that I feel like some of my family members and I are speaking different languages.
Many years ago ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy, Day #24: You and Your Friends
(Note: I never posted this to Facebook. While I plan to call out the friend mentioned below, doing so in front of all our mutual friends seemingly out of nowhere doesn't strike me as an effective or compassionate way to go about it.)
If this post sounds disjointed, that’s because it is. Usually I sit down to write these having already reflected on ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #22: You and White Feminism
This is an area where I have been especially weak. The first time I heard the term “white feminism,” I didn’t understand why it was even necessary. Simplistically, I saw feminism as a movement that applied equally to all women, and while I could see the need for specialized branches of black feminism, or feminism for certain minority groups, I didn ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #21: Week 3 Review
It’s taken me a lot longer than a week to get through Week 3, but at least that has given me more time to reflect. Saad asks, “What more have you learned about yourself and your unique, personal brand of white supremacy?” The biggest area I need to work on is performative allyship, because as I’ve said, I have a lot of emotional energy invested in ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy, Day 20: You and Being Called Out/Called In
Layla F. Saad starts today’s chapter with a quote from Nikki Giovanni: “Mistakes are a fact of life. It is the response to error that counts.” She then goes on to explain what the terms “calling out” and “calling in” mean (maybe this is obvious to some of you, but I was confused about the difference). Here she is quoting Asam Ahmad: “‘Call-out ( Read more... ) -
Me and White Supremacy Day #19: You and Optical Allyship
Optical allyship, also called performative allyship, is when a person with white privilege acts like an ally to BIPOC but is really doing it to make themselves look good, not to actually fight racism. I’ve paraphrased a few of Layla F. Saad’s examples below:
1. Posting anti-racist content on your social media to signal how woke you are, but not ( Read more... )