Positivity Culture Is A Sham

When you think of positivity, what do you see?
A newsfeed with no politics?
Asking friends to never discuss their struggles?
A safe space for babies, cats, and dogs?
Does your positivity erase struggle?
Reinforce oppression and privilege?
Then it is neither positive nor wholesome
Imagine a room full of people
You’re the only gay person in the room
Somebody makes a homophobic comment
The host demands your silence, keep the peace
After all, it is a party, don’t ruin the mood
Once might not bother you
But so many demand this daily
We’re just bringing everyone down
We’re being too depressing
Not everything is political
No discourse on my wall
It was just a joke
Did you know you can acknowledge us and still be positive?
Positivity culture is so white and straight you could line a runway
But we can change that
Include us in your conversations
Stick up for us
Encourage our presence and validate our struggles
Positivity culture is filled with supremacy
It doesn’t have to be, but it’ll take work
Delete transphobia, not the original post
Confront the racism, not the victim
Put sexism on blast, don’t silence women
All the while reinforcing
All the while uplifting
All the while spreading positivity
Real positivity
Belief in and action for a better tomorrow
Real positivity is compassionate
Real positivity knows that sometimes
Positivity needs to raise its voice
Knows that sometimes anger is necessary and just
Knows that silencing the oppressed is neither positive nor wholesome
Knows that inclusion is positivity
We can clean a toxic substrate
It will take work but it must be done
Let positivity, real positivity, shine through
Image Description: A black and white photo of a desert-like landscape. The curve of a road can be seen from the far bottom left of the photo to near the bottom right, with another curve going up the middle and disappearing around a rocky ridge. This rock ridge extends from the left side of the photograph to the middle, tapering off. Beyond that in the distance is another rock ridge, extending from the center off to the right of the frame. Beyond that is a flat landscape where a town is visible several miles away. The horizon line is a landscape of mountains with sheer rock cliffs. The shadows of clouds cover these mountains. The sky is filled with dramatic, fluffy clouds that extend to the horizon, with clear sky visible at the very top of the photo.