Conversation Starters

There's this thing that happens when white people hear terms like   systemic racism  or   social inequity .  They bristle.  They reject the premise of the question.  They double down explaining how hard they've worked for everything they've ever gotten in their lives:   I earned this house, this car, this vacation, this life .    No one handed me anything.  I poured my blood, sweat, and tears into everything I've ever done and will always be this way until my dying day.  I had to work hard -- no one can tell me I don't deserve every single thing I have . No one is telling you that you don't.  So chill.  I, too, am a white person who has worked very hard my entire life, who has gone through very difficult situations and, when the dust settled, was still standing.  I completely agree that there is a pride and an honor and a sense of accomplishment with every achievement I make.  I'm not automatically rich or worry-...

   "We are so confused and ill-prepared for life when we're young.   Schools fail us so much.   It's insane to me that I knew more about igneous rocks  than I did about sexual consent  or about depression or anxiety or  how the world actually works."  ~ Jameela Jamil This morning as I went about the business of waking up, brushing my teeth, flat ironing my hair, and dabbing on a smidgeon of makeup, I was listening to  this week's episode of  Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend  and was fairly stunned by the beautiful truths shared by his guest, Jameela Jamil.  I mostly know her as the high-maintenance Tahani from the delightful show  The Good Place , but was otherwise unfamiliar with her.  It turns out, she has quite a lot of thoughts about life and its meaning that made me stop and think -- and in the event of what I shared up-top, painstakingly rewind back through the episode to get her exact words. Why  is ...

Introduction For the second time in as many presidential elections, a qualified female candidate failed to shatter the highest political glass ceiling in the United States of America by being elected president.  In 2016, former First Lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton became the Democratic nominee as arguably the most qualified candidate this country has ever seen only to be defeated by a former reality television show host, lukewarm businessman, and accused sex offender with no political experience whatsoever.  While that shocked Clinton supporters, the implications that American society is simply not ready to accept a female president remained evident as Kamala Harris, Amy Klobuchar, Kristen Gillebrand, Tulsi Gabbard, Marianne Williamson, and Elizabeth Warren all attempted to achieve what Clinton could not.  Of those six women, Warren was touted as the “favorite.”  In fact, Warren was thought to be a strong contender for the nomination, even ahe...