Some shit I'm angry about

1) The absurd number of feminists, and people in general, who refuse to consider trans women to be women. The fact that the Michigan Womyn's Festival STILL has  a "womyn born womyn" only entry policy. Having a vagina is not what makes you a woman. THIS IS NOT COMPLICATED.

2) White, cis feminists who refuse to acknowledge how disproportionately violence affects trans women and women of color. While I might be at higher risk for rape or domestic violence because of my gender, the likelihood that I will be on receiving end of violence goes way down because I'm white and cisgender. This is also true for pay gaps and just about every other feminist issue you can think of. Saying that is not in any way diminishing the seriousness of feminist concerns. It's just true. Feminism that isn't deliberately, consciously intersectional and self-critical at all times is BULLSHIT. Anyone who feels otherwise should do some serious self-reflection/just be a better person.

3) The fact that so many people conflate the two meanings of privilege and refuse to understand what people mean when they discuss privilege. "Privileged" can mean lucky in a single-instance sense, like when you feel privileged to be somebody's friend or privileged to be nominated for an award. Systematic, institutionalized privilege is a different thing, and it's a very real thing. I benefit from white privilege, as do all white people, regardless of their level of education, gender, income, sexuality, etc. I can walk down the street at night in a hoodie with a reasonable expectation that I won't be shot or harassed by the police. If I ever am a victim of violence or sexual assault, I have a reasonable expectation that the police will believe me and take my complaints seriously. The fact that I might be oppressed because of patriarchy doesn't make my white privilege any less of a thing. Bringing up the individual circumstances of your life that are less-than-optimal when someone is discussing systematic oppression is a form of derailing. Stop, listen, shut up. It's not that complicated.

4) The large number of people who are willing to get on their moral high horse about being vegan or vegetarian who are unwilling to a) get anywhere near as riled up about the horrible treatment of the PEOPLE in our food system, notably migrant farm workers or b) critically examine the way PETA's ads normalize violence against women and exoticize women of color. How do you care more about a cow being slaughtered than about people being held in slavery on Florida's tomato plantations? I do not mean metaphorical slavery or wage slavery, I mean literal, no-pay, threats-of-violence, held-against-their-will SLAVERY. I mean, I get the sympathy for cows and stuff. I'm not condoning factory farming, and I want to smash corporate industrial food systems and slaughterhouses. But seriously, people, PRIORITIES.

5) The border. Just seriously. Why is that even a thing? Why do we need a WALL to separate us from Mexico? And more to the point, all the people who say, "Well, they should just come here LEGALLY like MY (white) ANCESTORS DID." Like bro, seriously. It's a 20 year wait for a visa if you're a Mexican national with a close relative already living in the U.S. Twenty years. And also WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TO JUDGE SOMEONE ELSE'S MOTIVATIONS FOR COMING TO THIS COUNTRY? Like, what gives you the right to go to like 90 countries with nothing more than a passport while we build a wall to keep the brown people out? Nothing. Don't say U.S. citizenship, because that is a social construction. There is nothing inherent in you as a person that makes you any more deserving. Nothing.

There are a lot more I could say, but those especially. If you're a friend who's unclear about any of these points, please ask me. I don't mind trying to help out with information; I do mind people who are wilfully ignorant.