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This category has links to relevant podcasts, news articles, and information regarding various buzz words on progressive issues, local government & elections, racism, diversity, equity, inclusion, countering radical right wing extremism, and other such topics which are highly misunderstood, yet which illicit strong opinions from many people across the board.
We all experience privilege and oppression to different degrees; the ways in which we are situated closer to the levers of social, political, and economic power, and the ways in which we are situated closer to the gears, about to be ground into grit. Too often those who experience a certain kind of privilege – whiteness, maleness, straightness, cisness, etc. – expect the people whose oppression and exploitation is the cost of that privilege to act as free personal tutors and mentors.
After demanding “proof” of racism, misogyny, or anti-LGBTQ+ bigotry, gaslighting those who suffer from oppression about their own experiences, and drawing debate out endlessly about whether they “deserve” equality, the privileged person complains that they “are only trying to learn!” and exclaims “How am I supposed to learn if you won’t teach me!” Of course, privileged people never offer to compensate the time, energy, and expertise they demand and by centering themselves as the victim of some unfairness, they remove their own obligation to acknowledge their privilege and do the work to dismantle systems of oppression.
Here we have collected a non-exhaustive list of media where you can BEGIN to do the work of understanding how you are situated in relation to the levers of power, and how you may – even unconsciously – manipulate those levers to maintain the status quo that keeps you on top and keeps others down. Wherever possible, try to COMPENSATE these authors for helping educate you by BUYING these works from local and minority-owned businesses.