This is an essay directed at allies--all allies, in all struggles for justice and equity. My presumption is that you want to be good allies, and that you earnestly believe in the causes for which you struggle. You don't want to be a racist, and you don't want to be a sexist, or an able-ist, or a classist, or any other sort of enforcer of systematic oppressions. Instead, you want to liberate others and yourself from the chains of institutionalized oppression. Today I want to talk about why our own brains make that a difficult thing to do, how we cannot trust our own memories and perceptions. I also want to discuss the importance of basic principles in guiding behavior, the need for us to struggle for coherence, and to fight our tendencies to ignore, rationalize and excuse oppressive behavior.
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