so testify!

[image: banksy]
"I am the nina, the pinta, the santa maria!
The noose and the rapist, the fields overseer!"
--zach de la rocha

In the end, it's all about power. All oppressions are undeniably linked. Inequalities in class, race, gender, religion, etc. etc... I don't think that there is one issue that sticks out above others because all oppression is equally valid (this is not to say that I want to belittle any of the struggles in any particular oppressed group). There is so much anger and history to all struggles. Power can be assertion of dominance over another individual through violence. I'd like to think that our own power comes from being an individual. Notice how we're always looking for someone or something to blame... fuck the terrorists, fuck social hiearchies, fuck god, fuck the justice system, fuck [insert person/place/thing]. We're all intertwined in a complex web of oppression... I don't think it's possible for anyone to play a truly passive role in it. We are all oppressors or oppressed in some form or another whether we're born into it or choose to be. Ultimately being able to see how we fit as individuals in this complex web of oppression is the first step to ending or at least help alleviate the inequalities in society. I know it's not a perfect world and what I'm saying is probably more worthless than a soggy bag of shit to some of you but take it as you will, it's not my place to convince anyone anything... you have your own power of choice to do that.

I don't know... I guess after attending all these workshops and listening to the voices of others only reaffirmed that I'm not alone. I don't necessarily agree with all the politics and viewpoints of similar organizations... but knowledge is empowering. I made a promise to myself and I'm going to stick with it.