I pride myself on being fair, equitable, equal.
I guess it is hard to say these things without proof or backup – and I can only hope that my partner and my closest friends would do so if asked, but I would never ask it of them.
Regardless, I naturally and unnaturally do treat everyone as individuals of equal value. I do not care about your skin, sex, creed or political affiliation. I don’t. I might argue with you on a philosophical level and challenge both you and myself to better understand and explain our respective views – but that is not an attack, it’s an intellectual sport.
The worst thing you can do to me my ego is to put me into a generalised category. The worst of the worst? “White” and “Male”.
I really don’t know why … it is always a massive thorn to me … I tried to work it out a few years back, but apparently, it’s still there … maybe it’s due to my identity issues, or maybe it’s something else.
So, when I read things like The Problem With Men Explaining Things I hate it. I hate that they do that, I hate that this is seen as a standard form of behaviour that all men do and most of all I hate that I will end up getting lumped in with those idiots.
I joke sometimes that maybe I need people to just continuously pat my head and tell me I am special … but I doubt that would appease me. There is something about the fundamental inequality that rages me, perhaps not as much as the abuse of another, but pretty ragey none-the-less.
I … really don’t know how else to try and explain it … just externalising it again … and will probably keep doing so for many years to come until I get my lightbulb moment.
xntrek 