Aaaaahhhh thank you for this. Courageous, provocative, insightful, needed. I actually just finished a piece taking up a similar line of inquiry (from within my socialized identities as a white man with class privilege) exploring privilege, entitlement, sacrifice, and power. I see a lot of similar themes here, and felt a visceral reaction to your form of sacrifice (eat bitter, which is a frame I used too). Oof.

My own take on this, following john powell's work (spoiler alert) is that the antidote to othering is belonging. If we believe in a world where everyone belongs (which seems to me both the only accurate description of reality and the only ethical aspirational approach) what remains to be sorted is: who is centered? When we talk about "centering those most impacted" which axis of impact are we prioritizing? (Olufemi Taiwo's recent piece on this was breathtakingly good).

Would love to hear how others are processing this, and welcome additional reflections.

https://citizenstout.substack.com/p/holding-on-and-letting-go-privilege