Why I Am Marching

The past few months I haven't been writing. I've made vague scratches at the page, but nothing felt like enough. Donald Trump is nothing new. He is only the concentrated epitome of racism, sexism, classism, and xenophobia that has long held our country in its claws. His rise to power, however, has granted the more …

A Note from Poor White America

I'm probably going to get SO MUCH backlash from this, but you know what, I stopped caring about ten days ago. I've talked to a lot of people about this motherfucking election. And a lot of people I've talked to have noted that "racism/sexism/homophobia/utter disdain for the environment/etc. are bad BUT" And then continue with …

The Five Stages of Acknowledging Whiteness

Note: I know a lot of times these conversations are framed as "black and white". As if these were the only two races that exist in the United States. This is obviously not the case. There is a broad spectrum in which racism impacts people of color, each person and their intersection of identity will …

Dear Moderate White People

We need to talk. I'm sorry we didn't talk about this sooner. You need to radicalize. Listen, I was once one of you, in many ways I still am, there's not an end to progressing, there's only achieving all that you can in your lifetime. It is easy to think that you are not a …

Who Controls the Narrative: Thoughts on Being a Woman, Luke Cage, and the Presidential Election

*I was working on this before the election and I wish I had published it back then, but I hope it'll still be relevant.* **Content warning: discussion of sexual violence** Narratives are what we tell ourselves to make sense of a disparate and confusing universe. Narratives have power. Narratives shape reality, our sense of identity, …

Why Everyone EVERYONE Needs to Vote for Hillary Clinton

Friends, I have kept silent this election, mostly in stunned bewilderment. I thought it was funny at first, that this hateful peach of a man was running for presidency. Yes, I laughed at the farce of it, at the way it pointed out the flaws in our political system. Yes, the corruption, yes, the humor. …

Black Lives Matter

CW: Discussion of murder, racial violence, sexual assault. Was going to write a post about my move to California, but police officers are murdering citizens. again. Sorry, did I wake up in an alternate reality where the police are hired to hunt down black men? Oh, wait. No, that's just the United States. I need …

White Self-Hatred is Not Enough

TW: discussion of racial violence and self-harm For a long time I've hated my skin. I hate the way it looks: all pale and pimply, puckering in the cold, burning in the sun. I hate its translucency, how it reveals my deepest secrets to the world. But most of all I hate what it represents: …

Obvious Invisibility: Part II

A year or so has passed since last I wrote about this topic. Which is irresponsible on my part. I think I make excuses to myself about not writing about race because I don't want to be dominating the conversation, but there's a difference between taking over a discourse and remaining silent out of cowardice. …

Laura Tries to Say Something

TW: Profanity. Discussion of the state of the world. I'm going to try to keep the cursing to a minimum because someday I want this to become a professional-type blog? Not to mention a wise person once said, "Profanity is what you use when you lack creativity". But there is the slight problem of there …