Quote of the Day

Making peace with ourselves over something we've done is how we teach ourselves not to do dishonorable things in the future.  If we need time away in order to make that kind of peace, then we should take that time.

-- Kate Bornstein, Hello, Cruel World, p. 123-124

Quote of the Day

The most radical action a white person can take is to acknowledge this denied privilege, to say, "Yes, you're right.  In our institutional structures, and in deep psychological structures, our underlying assumption is that our lives are worth more than yours."

-- Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop, p. 104

Quote of the Day

Try it out: spend one day living like you're some visiting dignitary in a world that welcomes and celebrates people like you.  That's what living your life is supposed to feel like, no matter what kind of freak or outsider other people might think you are.

-- Kate Bornstein, Hello, Cruel World, p. 111-112

Quote of the Day

This is why the cry "Black Lives Matter" angers you so greatly, why it is utterly offensive and effortlessly revolutionary.  It takes aim at white innocence and insists on uncovering the lie of its neutrality, its naturalness, its normalcy, its normativity.

-- Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop, p. 104

Quote of the Day

Everyone deserves to feel cared for, respected, and welcome.  So, shouldn't we learn how to do that for ourselves?

-- Kate Bornstein, Hello, Cruel World, p. 111

Quote of the Day

White fragility is a will to innocence that serves to bury the violence it sits on top of.

-- Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop, p. 103

Quote of the Day

Less and less movement is a sign of less and less life.

-- Kate Bornstein, Hello, Cruel World, p. 107

Quote of the Day

As my brave white student discovered, whiteness claims so loudly its innocence because it is guilty, or at least a lot of white folk feel that way.  This is why, of course, your resistance to feelings of guilt is absurdly intense.  There is a terror in accepting accountability, because it doesn't end with your recognition that something is rotten in Denver or Detroit.  It suggests something is amiss across our country.

-- Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop, p. 100

Quote of the Day

Showing up for one another with authenticity and vulnerability -- and sticking together through life's hard times -- is what bonds us the deepest to each other.  When we learn to connect with people in this way, we foster intimate and lasting, ride-or-die relationships.  Ultimately, the moments of sorrow and fear we sit through together will also give us our moments of greatest nourishment, as both givers and receivers.  So yeah: learning to show up can be scary.  But is the temporary fear and discomfort worth it?  More than anything.

-- Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell, There Is No Good Card for This, p. 243

Quote of the Day

No one is perfectly kind, compassionate, and generous.  But you can live a kinder, more compassionate, and generous life by following just one simple rule: DON'T BE MEAN.

-- Kate Bornstein, Hello, Cruel World, p. 96

Quote of the Day

Justice is what love sounds like when it speaks in public.

-- Michael Eric Dyson, Tears We Cannot Stop, p. 100

Quote of the Day

For a griever, there is rarely any more comfort than companionship on the awful path of sorrow.  Hopefully, that path will also include joy in time.  But there is no guarantee that it will, and there is no timeline for when it does.  There is no human gain in shying away from that reality, as difficult as it may feel.  That is the plight of the griever; that is the plight of the witness.

-- Kelsey Crowe and Emily McDowell, There Is No Good Card for This, p. 225