It happens all too often in activist circles: someone is telling about their experience of having a traditionally oppressed identity, or, during a webinar, a facilitator uses a phrase that may be new to the person hearing it.
“Excuse me,” you’ll here, “Are those really the right words to describe what you’re talking about?”
Most often, this comes up around phrases in social justice that are unfamiliar or evoke strong emotions. Perhaps they think “white privilege” means that no white people have a tough life or that talking about “white supremacy” means we’re accusing all white people individually of being racist or, even worse, implying they affiliate with hate groups.