Classism

It’s not enough to simply declare you aren’t a racist. Anti-racism is an active force seeking to unlearn, decolonize and restructure. Image: author.

Can The 'Angry Black Guy' Have White Friends?

It’s easy for folks in America to get angry but it’s incredibly difficult to get them to stay angry. To transfer anger to hope. And to participate in transformation. Then to start all over again with the next hashtag.

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Teeth are inseparable from class in this country. Image: Thinkstock.

How An Exploding Tooth Made Me Confront My Own Classism

Teeth are inseparable from class in this country. I have gotten by in life largely by being able to “pass” as middle class, by being white and articulate and confident. People meet me and assume that I must have gone to college. Middle class people talk to me like I’m their peer. But I am not their peer. I will never be their peer.

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“The police shooting of ‪Charles Kinsey last week [as of writing] exposed the myth of policing as a viable response to crisis scenarios in the United States.” Image: by Daniel Arauz/Flickr.

Not Everyone Thinks Funneling More Resources Into Police 'Training' Is Solution to Racist Violence

Some human rights campaigners argue that now is an important time to scrutinize federal funding of highly-militarized police trainings in the Miami area that may contribute to surrounding police agencies’ aggressive tactics.

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"We’re painfully aware of the fact that we’re “the only one” in the room, or one of very few. Don’t make it worse." Image: Author

3 Ways To Avoid Tokenizing People (Because I'm Sick Of It)

It’s like being a deer in the headlights. You’re in imminent danger. You know it. But you can’t move. You can’t speak. No reaction whatsoever. You just stand or sit there, frozen in time, waiting for the crash.

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If you can commit to following the points in this guide, and to share and re-share this guide, you will be contributing to changing a culture that is indebted in the oppression of Black individuals.

Your Guide On How To Support Black People After Incidents Of Police Violence

This piece is for you, my non-Black friends, my non-Black family members, my non-Black activists, my non-Black educators, and my non-Black partner. This piece is for you, because whether you know it or not, you benefit from anti-Blackness.

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During each doctor visit, I was warned about the possibility of addiction that comes with prescription painkillers, but there was radio silence regarding the ways each alternative therapy would affect my life. Image: Thinkstock.

Concerns About 'Drug Seeking' Only Harm Chronic Pain Sufferers

If you have chronic pain, you are all too aware of the stigma surrounding the condition. Whether it comes from a disbelieving health professional, an intrusive pharmacy technician who does nothing to hide their suspicions, an employer who wonders why you can’t get off the couch today when you appeared “fine” the day before — it seems like everywhere you turn, someone is saying you don’t deserve pain relief.

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I just wasn’t getting signals that I was as safe as I needed to be. Image: Thinkstock.

My Therapist Fired Me — And I'm OK With It

My therapist of six months — let’s call her L — was letting me go. It was so subtle that I wasn’t even sure what was happening; I had to ask.

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Photo credit: Emma Wondra Photography "I’m starting to worry that my friends are prettier than me."

What If My Friends Are Prettier Than Me?

From a young age, people (especially women) are constantly taught that we’re in competition with one another. Whether it’s our grades, our social status, our economic status, or those creepy beauty pageants for 6 year olds, we’re immediately thrust into a world where we’re taught to view everyone as adversarial to a certain degree.

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