Lately, I’ve been feeling a deep sensitivity as I move about my world—a vulnerability, a brewing sadness, that comes, I believe, from the rawness of beginning to peel back the layers and peer into the depths of my own internalized oppression. I see how often I let myself become small, allow someone else a final thought to keep the peace, and ignore the use of words like “ghetto” (when a place is not) and “afro” (when a hairstyle is not) to protect a white friend from feeling uncomfortable if corrected.

Often these subtle aggressions happen closest to home, when engaging with my friends and other seemingly aware white individuals. To be clear, these people are not racists. They’re activists supporting marginalized populations, creatives dedicated to raising social consciousness, and general do-gooders making not enough money to do meaningful things. No doubt upon reading this, they will stand by my side and say, “write on!” (pun intended).

Yet the fact that even individuals conscious of the oppression of marginalized populations inadvertently reinforce their own privilege indicates the power of societally patterned interactions.1 These patterns are the result of our conditioning by a system created by and built to propagate the prosperity of white people. Without paying specific attention to these patterns, we’re destined to recreate oppressive societal structures of power and hierarchy on the micro-level in our conversational dynamics, even against our best intentions.2

This is an article originally published on Arrow-journal.org. Click below to read more.