Now I Am

December 24, 2018 2:32 PM

Christy Williams wrote a powerful piece, published in The Rumpus, about people's assumptions. (CW: racism, sexism.)
posted by larrybob (5 comments total)

Wow that sucks, big time. I am hoping that the "now I am" is mostly just a plot device, otherwise that is some really tough baggage to be carrying around. Good luck Christy.
posted by Meatbomb at 10:34 PM on December 24, 2018 [1 favorite]

Now I am moved.
posted by zaixfeep at 9:13 AM on December 25, 2018 [2 favorites]

Meatbomb, yes, it's some really tough baggage ... that is how oppression works. I'm trying to understand your comment -- did you think people aren't influenced by such exchanges along with the whole culture that undergirds them?
posted by allthinky at 9:44 AM on December 25, 2018 [7 favorites]

This is a person I could be friends with. Totally get them.
posted by artof.mulata at 1:57 PM on December 25, 2018

allthinky, I can't speak for Meatbomb, but I had the exact same thought. Knowing that people carry that baggage around is different from actually being a person who is subject to those comments and carries that baggage around. My first thought as a white female after reading the first "Now I am..." was was, "No, you are not. You are you, not what others say you are." I am a member of many privileged classes and can never fully grasp Christy's experiences. It is nearly impossible for me to change my internal knee-jerk responses, but I do try.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 9:55 AM on December 31, 2018