Unfortunately, we live in a universe where circumstances out of our control can lead to us being treated differently by others. Things like the color of our skin, gender, and sexual orientation can cause people to treat others differently because of societal attitudes towards those who are different.

One of the only ways to get rid of inequality and marginalization is acknowledging it and tackling it head on. A lot of times people are afraid to talk about things that really matter due to fear of being judged or thought of differently by peers.

It can be hard for anyone to think and talk about things such as institutional or systemic inequality, but in order to understand these concepts, it is critical to remember that many of us have the option of "turning off" this conversation because it is not something that we live with. The ways we experience this are different for different people because there are a multiplicity of privileges that sadly work to marginalize individuals and groups in our society.

Because of this, it is important to recognize that people are each the expert in their own individual experiences. It's their own personal experience, and our opinion of it doesn't change what happened. In no way does this mean that we should stifle the exchange of ideas, but rather, I feel that starting from this basis helps us to try to understand the experience of other people, and therefore supports and helps the exchange of ideas.

Hopefully more dialogue and exchange of ideas can lead to a more understanding and forgiving world. Things like kindness and forgiveness are critical to a high-functioning accepting society, but its important to remember that they should be saved for those who deserve it. Not everyone should be forgiven. It needs to be reserved for those who are actually regretful and would take that forgiveness and try to become a better person, and not for people who are sorry just for the sake of saving their own reputation.