Panel 1

(Image of a person, fed up and angry, eating a sandwich while looking sideways)

Text: I often hear the phrase…

Person 1: It’s not my responsibility to educate that person.

Text: This comes from such a real place of frustration, pain, and burnout!

Panel 2

(Image of same person, working in a kitchen, looking annoyed at their workmate who has white locs and a confrontational attitude)

Person 2: But why is it offensive? I have Black friends who don’t care about my hair.

Text: If you encounter someone trying to explain why they find a certain attitude, or concept, or behavior hurtful, I guarantee they have explained it a hundred times before!

Panel 3

(Image of a transgender person at school, who is trying to ignore a classmate leaning into their space)

Person 2: But why isn’t it okay to ask about your surgery? I’m open-minded. I’m trying to be supportive!

Text: Living a particular experience of being structurally oppressed means constantly educating others as to why and how that experience is real, valid, and deserving of empathy. It makes it hard to not greet these conversations without weariness or cynicism.

Panel 4

(Image of a person at a party, holding a drink and angling their body away from another person)

Text: These conversations are often triggering and anxiety-provoking because it means opening up histories of trauma with someone that might not even make you feel held and safe in this process.

Person 2: What are you talking about? “Exotic” is totally a compliment.

Panel 5

(Back in the kitchen, Person 1 is responding to Person 2)

Text: Redirecting people to books, zines, or Internet articles became an amazing way to avoid these super draining interactions.

Person 1: (speech bubble is a URL to (speech bubble is a URL to an Everyday Feminism article on white people appropriating Black hairstyles)

Panel 6

(Back in school scenario, Person 2 is responding to Person 1)

Text: And these days, there is a wealth of information on the web to learn about these things.

Person 1: (speech bubble is a URL to (speech bubble is a URL to a Slate article by a trans author who is discussing why it’s not okay to ask invasive questions about surgery)

Panel 7

(Image of a person, dark silhouette, sitting in bed lit up by their computer)

Text: But even on the Internet, certain voices get prioritized, and certain people find it easier to access that information. This typically includes people with stellar educations, people raised in middle- or upper-class families, people who don’t have disabilities, and people who are time- and/or resource-rich.

Panel 8

(Image of a college student looking annoyed)

Person 1: Why doesn’t that person just read an article on that issue?