Hi Bevin, thanks for this. The key thing is not to abandon your critical thinking. That’s what leads to most of the avoidable mistakes I refer to in the article. As I’m sure you’ve already found, there are a number of confliicting opinions on how best to be an ally in this fight. Trying to please everybody will just leave you exhausted, confused, and quite possibly doing more harm than good.

Bear in mind that some of the black voices you hear on these issues will be wrong too. Plenty of black people will disagree with me, but I’ve done enough work and given enough thought, and care deeply enough that I’m comfortable defending my views, while also being willing to change my mind or see nuance. This is what being a “grownup” in the movement means. It’s those who can’t do this that you need to worry about.

Thank you so much for doing what you can.