I think it is selfish for me to try to frame Me Too as something that I own. It is bigger than me and bigger than Alyssa Milano. Neither one of us should be centered in this work. This is about survivors.
Tarana BurkeRead
For every R. Kelly or Bill Cosby or Harvey Weinstein, there's, you know, the owner of the grocery store, the coach, the teacher, the neighbor, who are doing the same things. But we don't pay attention until it's a big name. And we don't pay attention 'til it's a big celebrity.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote highlights the tendency to overlook widespread misconduct among everyday people until it is brought to light by high-profile cases.
Tarana Burke's quote emphasizes that while high-profile figures like R. Kelly, Bill Cosby, and Harvey Weinstein receive significant media attention for their actions, similar behaviors occur frequently among ordinary individuals like coaches, teachers, and neighbors. This suggests a societal blind spot where we focus on celebrity misdeeds while ignoring the everyday injustices happening around us, calling for a shift in our awareness and response to misconduct at all levels.
Themes
MisconductAwarenessCelebrityInjusticeSocietyMedia
In practice
Example use cases
During a discussion about societal issues, one might reference this quote to illustrate how we often ignore misconduct in everyday life.
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