“Armor in the Form of Ego Preservation”

The following is an excerpt from my upcoming body of work.

“By identity, I have to deal with a lot of discomfort. And by system design, I deal with disproportionately more discomfort. All this discomfort, all this oppression, suppression, and degradation—and I still don’t have armor that preserves what separates me from you. 

What separates us hurts us all, so I don’t have those defense mechanisms. Abuse, deceit, theft, extraction, exploitation, and degradation come into me, but they don’t leave. It stops at me and that’s consciously so. I can’t repeat what I can name and denounce. I can’t repeat what I can point out and expect not to experience from others. I can’t stop wars but I can declare that the actions that enable them stop at me. I can vow not to repeat the deplorable actions against me. I won't be fighting wars—or you, for that matter. I won't invalidate you. I won't demean you. I won't withhold food, water, shelter, or your access to any of them. I won't withhold knowledge that will help you. I won't lie to you. I'll always share. I'll always listen.”