isms

Hi Maggie,

Thinking about the "isms" - feminism, sexism, racism, classism...

All of the work we are doing is so important. We need to understand the ways we have been oppressed in order to  - I don't know - rise above it.

But it only looks at part of the picture. It seems to me that feminism focuses on oppression of women by men. Racism focuses on the increasing oppression we face as the hue of our skin becomes darker.  We end up lashing out at men, or at whites...then trying to separate ourselves from them.

But if we take two steps back and understand that those who oppress us have also been oppressed...could we find our way to identifying and spotlighting those who are on top of the "ism" heap? Who is currently winning at King of the Hill?

We need to look at the whole picture, then work on our little corner of it. We need to stop lashing out at those closest to us, for they are victims of the same charade...

Random thoughts...

Love and hugs from Clare