This blog post was originally published as a subscriber-only article entitled “Yopp’s Guide to Being an Awesome Ally,” at the beginning of January 2020. I decided to share it more widely because it was such valuable information and I also updated it as my opinions and understanding of allyship had shifted over the years. CN: broad discussion of oppression I once saw a post from someone somewhat new to social activism saying he wished there …Read More
Tag: classism
The Problem with Slurs
CN: In-depth discussion of the usage and purpose of slurs and the common defenses for using slurs; discussion of racism, sexism, anti-gay bias, and classism. Warning: There will be a couple of slurs written out in full in this article. They are written this way to maintain clarity in a purely educational piece. I made a point to limit how many slurs I used and to avoid using any slurs that would be particularly egregious …Read More
It Can’t Be That Bad: How the Medical System Let Me Fall Through the Cracks
CN: Explicit descriptions and in depth discussion of chronic pain, abuse, medical neglect, gaslighting, and oppression through poverty. Discussion of sexual assault, trauma, mental and illness. Mention of genitals. There is a disconnect between the experience of a patient and the experience of a medical professional, one that worsens if the patient’s illness is chronic or not easily explained. As more and more stories of medical neglect as a result of marginalization are brought to …Read More
When Charity Masks Injustice: Thoughts from an Ex-Missionary
CN: in depth discussion of christian culture and religious institutions, othering and neglect of marginalized groups, stigmatization of mental illness, abuse of power. One of the things I love about the Voices section of this blog is that it creates an opportunity to share guest writers’ life experiences that are so incredibly different from my own. I can research a topic, break it down, explain it to you, but I can’t tell you what it’s …Read More
What Is Afforded to You
CN: chronic illness, police brutality, racism, mental illness, medical neglect, forced stay at mental institution. Note: This blog post heavily references a specific article that goes into far more detail of the above topics than this one does, in addition to a number of other heavy topics such as sexual assault, addiction, and domestic abuse. The article referenced does not include a content note. Three or four years ago, I somehow came across an article …Read More
Financial Advice for People Who Hate Capitalism
Alternate title: How to use money wisely when you despise capitalism because your last meal was some dandelion greens you picked and some cold cuts you brought home from a wedding reception. I loved Elizabeth’s ability to discuss serious topics with biting humor and compassion in her previous guest post so much that she wrote me another! This one had me nodding along in agreement and saying YES THAT out loud through the whole piece. …Read More
Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist, and Sexist, and…
If you were to make an off-color comment to me and defend yourself by saying that you don’t have a racist/sexist/classist bone in your body, or that you are “colorblind” your response would give me an important piece of information about you. Because as the song goes, everyone’s a little bit racist.
Explaining Privilege Part 3: The Scrutiny of Oppressed Groups
We often talk about privilege in terms of the positives, the benefits you receive: Resources, freedom, trust, and benefit of the doubt are extremely common ones. But what about the flip side? The opposite of privileged groups receiving the benefit of the doubt is the scrutiny of oppressed groups.
The Future of Book Reading: Stop Sharing this Graphic for Book Lovers
There are a lost of class and ability based problems with this graphic that Robert Brewer created to demonstrate his love of books and concern for the future of book reading.