notes and quotes

Things I've written in my phone notes app recently (not all are my words):

In his first year, Mr. Trump has set out to rewrite the nation's history by erasing the scars of its original sin (slavery)

only white people have the privilege of wishing for the good old days

neutrality in the face of oppression always supports the oppressor

Southern California is what it is today because of tuberculosis. People emigrated because it was known for its fresh air.

crystalized for me the new era, one where profits come first, alliances mean little, and raw power rules

how to deal when someone says something racist:

1. stand up against them and call them out, tell them they're being racist

2. report them, if it's at work or school, and can be reported

3. check on the target person who received the racist comment and make sure they're okay. Apologize for them having to endure a traumatic event and ask if they need help, if they're, someone you know spend some time loving on them

or the idea that artists burn too bright for this world

"The article discussed peers using teasing as a way to enforce gender norms. I do not necessarily see this as a problem. God made male and female and made us differently from each other on purpose and for a purpose, God is very intentional with what he makes, and I believe trying to change that would only do more harm" (quote from the viral gender norms essay that got a professor fired)

nothing is so privileged as thinking history belongs to the past

until the lions have their own storytellers, the story of the hunt will always glorify the hunter

hoping the torch will be passed, not dropped

If I could have any wish fulfilled, it would be to eliminate poverty. I would make it so kids didn't go hungry, girls didn't have to sell their bodies, boys didn't have to leave school to work, I would make it so parents could watch their children come out alive, so the news wasn't full of pictures of malnourished children while middle-class Americans buy a shirt for $3 because our convenience comes at a hidden price

"When parents say, 'I wish my child did not have autism,' what they're really saying is, 'I wish the autistic child I have did not exist, and I had a different (non-autistic) child instead." You still have your child, your child still is alive and can live a good life. Yes, children can have significant challenges, but your kid is here, he has challenges, so what are you going to do about it? Will you mourn the kid you thought you had? Or will you push like hell to make the world better for your child?

Anybody can look at you. It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see.

Black kids don't get to make mistakes. Black kids don't get to be kids. Black kids get judgment and bullets.

"privelage isn't about what you've gone through; its about what you haven't had to go through"