Hey Reader.

Josh Johnson is one of my favorite comedians. Every video I watch is a ride that I enjoy the entire way. It's so rare for him to land a joke that falls flat for me. And I think the reason why is because he understands the assignment.

This man uses his platform, like many comedy greats before him, to challenge the status quo.

He weaves his values, his vision for the future, and even bits of his own lived experience into his routines. This tapestry makes him a refreshing watch for someone like me who is uninterested in the type of comedy that might make you slap your knee but is only funny at the expense of someone else's humanity.

If you've never checked out any of his stuff, here's a good one to start with. (It's 40 minutes long but every minute you spend watching will be so worth it.)

But I'm sharing about his work today because he touched on a topic that I wanted to highlight: ripple effects.

You see, as he discussed the most recent pre-election presidential debate, he talked about how things that people with power say, even in jest or while bullshitting, can have profound impacts on the world.

Yes, this is a conversation about impact vs. intent (like so many of my conversations seem to be right now), but that's not the most important part of this.

The thing Josh Johnson said that made me pause my video and grab something to scribble down these thoughts was that we are sometimes too comfortable to take things seriously.

My man told us that, even though many of us are just scraping by, we're still probably comfortable (read: privileged) enough to ignore so much of the plight of others because, "it feels like a game, like it doesn't matter as much..."

And, yes, I want to acknowledge that life is hard AF right now. Yet, we all still need to reckon with the fact that, no matter how hard things are for us right now, we've still got so much relative privilege if, for example, we're comparing our regular-degular Monday morning to that of, say, someone living in Palestine, Sudan, or the Congo at this same moment.

And, yes, I want to acknowledge that you may not be living the life that you dream of, you probably don't have money to burn, and you are most likely short of whatever you would consider your most realistic goal. But whatever your station in life at this moment, you are most probably far more at ease than many folks to the east and south of us in the world.

But before you start slipping into the shame or guilt spiral, I want you to understand that you do not have to apologize or repent for your relative privilege.

So much of what you have and where you are today have nothing to do with you directly. #UncomfortableTruth

So much of your relative privilege is unearned, unbought, and unrequested.

You do not need to apologize for what you yourself did not create. You're off the hook for that, at least.

However, it is extremely important for you to be able to see and understand your relative privilege.

Not for guilt, not for shame, not for apology.

But for orientation.

Because, though I am not interested in engaging in the Oppression Olympics with anyone, I still want all of us to know that, if you're reading this, you are pretty comfortable, all things considered. #Nuance

So if you can hear a former president say something on an internationally televised stage about how certain immigrant groups are eating household pets, have a little chuckle, shake your head, and keep it moving, then your relative comfort and privilege might be preventing you from better understanding how a comment like this, as ridiculous, racist, and xenophobic as it is, helps to fuel oppression.

This doesn't mean that you now have to shed all your material belongings and take a vow of poverty or quit your gainful employment to become a full-time volunteer for your local activist organization.

What this means is that you need to make the time to have what may be a really uncomfortable conversation with yourself about the actual resources you have access to and the current capacity you have to commit to anti-oppression work in a meaningful (and impactful) way.

And if you need help (or just caring and skilled company) to make that happen, I've got several options available for you:

And, hey, you totally don't have to do anything at this exact moment (especially if you've gotten this far in this email) because maybe this has been a sufficient enough reminder for you to pick back up where you left off when things got a bit much or you got too busy. #LifeBeLifein

But, whatever move you make, take this as an invitation to check in with yourself to see where you can push, even just a small amount.

Because in the fight for our liberation, where we work together to create a world where the declaration, "You and Your Body Belong" is real for all of us, every little bit counts.

Here's to all the little bits causing ripples.

In love, liberation, and solidarity, ​

​

Sent with big fat love from a messy desk and a neurodivergent mind.

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