Shan Monmari

“The myth of exceptionalism has always been a cornerstone of neoliberal philosophy—the idea that since a few people can “make it” under capitalism, then everyone else can too. It is a myth that conflates the success of an individual with the prosperity of their entire class, and it is used to hide the barriers of systemic discrimination and violence.”
― Kai Cheng Thom

“All at once I understood that it had only been my illusion that we ourselves saddle events and control their course; the truth is that they aren't our stories at all, that they are foisted on us from somewhere outside; that in no way do they represent us; that we are not to blame for the strange paths they follow; that they are themselves directed from who knows where by that knows what strange forces.”
― Milan Kundera, Laughable Loves

“It’s painful, sometimes, to look back on a life and wonder if anything you did could have made any difference. So much is lost; and what’s lost is lost forever. Was it destined to be lost, or could we have saved it?”
― James Baldwin, Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone

“Transition is a fundamental right that all trans people, of all ages, should have access to. But I believe that transition, ideally, should be offered to us as one option of many for bodily autonomy and self-expression. It should not be something that we have to do to make ourselves more acceptable to others, or to hide our transness from the world.”
― Kai Cheng Thom, I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl's Notes from the End of the World