Words of Wisdom from Yolanda

Update: I missed something really important in this post, so following Yolanda's example - I'm editing it to highlight my own ideological blindness. I know this post is really popular, and I don't mean to start a 'meme' but if you repost it - maybe you'd like to highlight your own weaknesses too?

Words of Wisdom from Yolanda (straight out copying):

In light of recent assertions and statements that I’ve encountered on comment threads, message boards, and in private conversations, I thought I’d just take a moment to relate the following observations:

- You can be a good, decent, loving, caring person and be a white male supremacist.
- You can be a hard-working, dedicated, self-sacrificing person and still have unearned privilege. [ME]
- White male supremacy is a system of power, not a moral failing or an individual flaw.
- Having a spouse of color and/or children of color does not make a person antiracist.
- Working with, helping out, donating money to, or otherwise providing resources and services to people of color does not make a person antiracist. [ME]
- Being a fan of, an expert on, or a scholar of Native American literature, Eastern religions, manga, Afro-Asian languages, jazz, reggae, anime, Bollywood cinema, hip-hop, or national liberation movements does not make a person antiracist. [ME]
- Being a woman, lesbian, gay, transgendered, or poor DOES NOT negate one’s white and/or male privilege.
- Even if most men are not rapists, 99% of rapes are committed by biological men. This is a political reality.
- All human beings are equal. Men and women are not equal.
- All human beings are equal. White people and people of color are not equal.
- All human beings are equal. The rich and the poor are not equal.
- One does not need to be a white person to be a white supremacist.
- One does not need to be a man to be a misogynist.
- One can be both antiracist and white supremacist [ME].
- One can be both feminist and misogynist [ME]
- Critique of privileged and/or oppressive behavior is not a personal attack. [yeps, I fallen into that a few times]
- Resistance to oppressive bevavior is not a personal attack. [this one too]

And most important:

No matter how long you have lived, what you’ve experienced, what work you have done, you will never outgrow the need to change. [yes, yes, yes]

Comments closed, comment at Yolanda's pls.