We've far from made the changes needed

There are times when I would like to think that we have made progress in our world. I found myself recently having a conversation about a topic rather close to me and heard the preson across from me say, "I would like to think that that is pretty well accepted here." A part of me, a deep part of me, would like to agree and think that yes, we have a campus that is willing to accept each person for who they are, whomever that might be. But my experiences are far too personal and far too deep to allow myself to believe that it is indeed true.

We work to fight issues like racism, sexism, gender-ism, classism and the list just goes on and on and on. And yet I can still come to find something like a note stating that whomever took the time to type and print it "fucking hates jesus lovers."

When you find yourself living in the majority with even just one portion of your personal identity, it is easy to fall into the fact, or at least expectation, that you will not be discriminated against baised upon that one majority location. What happens, then, when you are still indeed discrimitated against?

We have people pushing us to believe that all of who we are is okay, that we can be open about it and share it widley. And yet we have discrimination, predjudice and pure and utter oppression to even our majority locations and identitities. What is wrong with this picture?

I think also to my personal experience at the Tunnel of Oppression last night-- they had us do the line of privelege where you step forward of elements of your identity which give you privilege and backwards for elements which typically oppress. Suddenly I found myself (a white, Christian, well educated, woman) with my back literally against the wall as I tried to take another step backwards.

What we fail to recognize is that when two white women, from roughly the same place, with roughly the same ontological locations are still vastely different. Diversity is not defined soley by race, class, abileism, education, spirituatlity, sex, gender, and sexual orientation. Diversity at its root is the recognition that people are different and that this difference is okay (or at least that is what we are trying to convince our society-- I argue that we are not there yet). But diversity has come far enough along now that it too has its limitations.

We need things, categories like "race" as a starting point. By the nature of how humans work, we need some sort of classification or grouping system to make sense of things. But what is almost always frogotten is that this classification or grouping should serve only as a starting point. Once whe have made the grouping (race) and gained a base line of understanding we must then disregard the grouping (race) and take the information we have gathered and view again everything without grouping (e.g. all people as apposed to one specific race).

While diversity, which was once just race-- black verses white --has contineud to expand with time, it has not expaned far enough, yet, to include all individuals. Most specifically, diversity fails to consider individuals as a unit which can have multiple locations and identities. Well, I have to recognize that some have begun to make this recognition. We are far from considering them seemlessly, though.

While someone may be seen as both white and woman, the two classifications are usually considered separately. What does it mean, or what comes along with being white? And, respectively, what does it mean, or what comes along with being a woman?

What happens, though, when someone is a Christian Feminist?

Some would readily say, so what, someone can be both Christian and Feminist. And to an extent, I agree. What happens when the topic of abortion arises? Assumptions are usually made in relation to this topic and someone's location as a Christian (e.g. usually pro-live) and someone's location as a Feminist (e.g. usually pro-choice). Where then does this leave the Christian Feminist?

Further, what can be said about the assumptions that we make when we learn of someone's identity or location-- e.g. Christian automatically means a pro-life stance?

What will it take for us to push the envelope and truly changes our current ways of thinking? Please note here that I used the word "we". I include myself in this statement. I may regularly think about these issues, research them, write, present and generally discuss them but this does not mean that I am immune to what our society subjects us all to.

What is most frustrating to me is that we talk about these issues, sometimes, and come up with what we know needs to be changed or addressed. And yet we do little to nothing to make our ideas and articulated concerns a changed reality. More fritening than anything else is the pure and rather simple fact that most have no clue what can be done to truly address the issues. We do not understand or at least struggle to accept that I as one person can make a change within my own world. I may not have the power to contorl the behavior and mindsets of those around me, but I do have the power, agency and choice to change myself. What I want you to know is that you do too. What are you willing to do in your own life? Will you at least allow yourself to think about these issues in relation to your life?