My existence is a radical act of defiance in a world:
…that doesn’t want me.
…that would rather see me dead.
…that sees me as a hinderance.
…that rarely acknowledges I exist.
…that sees my body as broken.
…that sees my body as ugly.
…that sees my body as flawed.
…that sees my body as abnormal.
…that makes me hate my body.
…that questions my ability to think, to comprehend, to articulate myself.
…that sometimes makes me hate myself.
…that sometimes makes me underestimate my own capabilities.
…that allows people to treat me horribly.
…that makes it nearly impossible for me to have all the things I need to live.
…that never cared about me in the first place.
…that will not spare me from the violence so commonly experienced by people like me.
…that doesn’t think I am capable of speaking for or representing myself or my interests.
…that often renders me invisible.
…that fails to represent people like me.
…that isn’t accessible to me or many others.
…that knows it isn’t accessible, and often doesn’t seem to care.
…that tries to hold me back in everything I do.
…that keeps me fighting for myself and others.
…that is prejudice.
….that is oppressive.
…that is discriminatory.
…that finds the death of me and people like me something to celebrate, not mourn… if it even acknowledges that death.
…that doesn’t look like me.
…that finds me weird.
…that never wanted me.
…that wasn’t made for me or people like me.
…that isn’t going to stop me from doing all I can to make my life better no matter what anyone else thinks or tries to do to stop me.
LOVE me or LOATHE me…this is who I am…
My radical existence defies all the odds society has placed upon me to try to get me to give up…to crush under the norms I can never and will never bend to…the societal standards I’ll never follow or fit.
I will never let them completely slowly down or stop me!
If you are like me…never let them stop you and never give up. #BeRadical and be proud!
You go, Dominick! Almost everything you say here directly applies to my life too. The life expectancy of a trafficked child is seven years, but I’m still here. Disabled people… well, you know all about that. Queer people… you know about that too. Sometimes, merely staying alive is an act of defiance. I’m alive.
[…] And it’s never “just one life” when you have to fight not only others’ perceptions, bureaucratic red tape, medical concerns, and discrimination… but yourself underneath it all. Sometimes being who we are is a radical act of defiance. […]