Allyship is Everywhere
Let’s talk about allyship. What does it even mean to be an ally? Being an ally means that you, as a dominant or un-oppressed group or person, will not only help but also build a connection with a less dominant group of people. For example, you would be an ally if, as a white man, you went to protests advocating for Black Lives Matter or women’s rights. You would be an ally if you, as a straight, cisgender male went to a rally to help the LGBTQ+ community. You don’t necessarily need to be a part of a dominant group, though. Even if you identify as a member of the LGBTQ+ community or other oppressed groups, you can still be an ally for them by standing up for other members of the community, fighting back against oppression, going to protests, and by being proud of who you are. Allies are a huge part in the fight for equality, and without them, it would be nearly impossible to bring about the changes that need to be made.
“The perfect ally doesn’t exist” (Cheng, n.d.). The quote seems obvious, -I mean, nothing perfect exists- but what it is really trying to say is that progress will always be needed. It’s not possible to be a perfect ally because nobody knows what that is. Another common saying is that the word “ally” is a verb, not a noun. It sounds funny to say, that, rather than being an ally, you do ally, but in a way that’s true. You can’t just wake up one day and say “I’m an ally” and expect it to be that way. You have to actually do allyship. It’s true that you could wake up one day and decide that you really like polar bears, but liking them isn’t going to save them from drowning when the ice melts. “There are no words to express the abyss between isolation and having one ally. It might be conceded to the mathematician that four is twice two, but two is not twice one; two is two thousand times one” (Chesterton, n.d.). I took this quote to mean that having even just one person who stands with you can make all the difference. When you have no one, it hits your confidence; it hits your determination; it makes it a million times harder to keep moving forward. Once you have a friend, an ally, and/or someone who is devoted to helping you, you become stronger. Allyship is important because a lot of the big movements happening today started when nobody wanted to help them, but with the help of protests, sit-ins, and a lot of arguing, they started to make progress. If it weren’t for allyship, people might have continued to be allowed to own slaves; two people of the same sex might never have been allowed to get married; women might never have gained the right to vote. Although we don’t always notice it, allyship has shaped some of the biggest aspects of our lives.
In conclusion, allyship is important. I see examples of it almost every day when I look on various social media and see posts about the Black Lives Matter movement. I see it in school where we are learning about different historical events pertaining to the LGBTQ+ community. I see it in things as big as the presidential election when one candidate appeals to minority groups more. Allyship is everywhere, even though most of the time we might not think about it. If you have a friend in the LGBTQ+ community, imagine having to watch them die from AIDS because of unfair medical treatment; die alone because they weren’t allowed to get married. The things today that many people count on as basic human rights used to be laughed upon and seen as unrealistic. With the help of allyship, we have all managed to create a better country for us to live in. Nobody can effect change on their own.
CITATIONS
Artist, A. (n.d.). I AM – Issue 1. Retrieved November 10, 2020, from https://www.iamzine.com/open-letters-written-by-allies-in-progress.html
Chesterton. (n.d.). Allies Quotes (44 quotes). Retrieved November 15, 2020, from https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/allies
