I joke about training for the uprising to “smash the patriarchy” but here’s a little secret: I’m actually not joking. I’M. NOT. JOKING. 

I know whatever I write here won’t represent all my thoughts and emotions; this is part of what makes me feel powerless. I feel powerless in knowing my audience, although comprised of people I know and love dearly, is limited. But I also know that if I say nothing I am stripping myself of any power I have at all. Any power to impact the world. Any power to effect change. Any power to give to others.

It’s an understatement to say that it’s complicated. You can’t “fix” the problem until you “fix” the systems and you can’t “fix” the systems unless you “fix” the people but you can’t “fix” the people until you “fix” the systems… It’s a vicious cycle; it’s a catch-22; it’s a cluster-fuck; it’s whatever you want to call it.

And all of this assumes we actually know what the “problem” is.