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Leaf Seligman's avatar

I read this in March and again now (July 21). I appreciate the candid recognition and reporting about your whiteness and privilege eliciting a response born of the experiences of indigenous people who associate your identity with that of oppression. As you note as a female, you have viewed male-bodied people as the Men who embody patriarchal oppression. It’s hard to distinguish between the visible resemblance of the individual and the collective identity of systemic oppression—and as a white person who is also a US citizen, I know my presence may represent the worst acts of oppression and genocide. Part of my work, my effort to repair the harm is to notice and acknowledge the ways I continue (however unintentionally) to embody white supremacy and Global North dominance. And then change my behavior. And reading about the Green Monster of sugarcane production reminds me of the limited nature of virtue. I have been a vegan for 13 years and I was a vegetarian for 34 years before that because I did not want to exploit animals in order to nourish my body and yet I am painful aware that I exploit human beings when I nourish my body because agricultural workers are among the most exploited on earth, and even though I buy only organic sugar, I know it is not fairly traded. Sometimes I do purchase fairly traded sugar, but I would never be able to eat or drink anything outside my home if I only consumed fairly traded sugar. So every day I have the destruction of the earth and the crushing of cultures on my hands. Acknowledging complicity and grieving the ways I cannot practically escape it is part of the work—and also acknowledging that we are all co-constituent cells in body of earth is part of the process. I am part of the destruction and part of the generative ongoing creation. I can exude tenderness and joy and that’s important to embrace. Otherwise, I would not know how to bear the weight of being born white and in the US. It helps knowing I am part of the whole and not just part of problem.

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MonkeyBalancingBuddha's avatar

Huge appreciation reading this. Sensitive and responsive, detailed and balanced 🙇🏼‍♂️ go steady with this work 🏄🏼‍♀️

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