Advocate vs. Ally
I really hate when allys, people from dominant groups say that they're "advocates" for whatever minority group they support. Straight people saying they "advocate" for lgbtq+ rights. White people saying they "advocate" for poc rights. No you are not, and if you are, you're doing allyship wrong. We do not need you to advocate FOR us, you are supposed to support us by doing what we tell you we need help with. Speaking for us, advocating for us is exactly what has gotten us into this situation in the first place. We have our own voices and we know how to use them, we can speak for ourselves on our own issues, we do not need you to speak on our behalf unless we specifically tell you to. So called allys, and people from the dominant groups speaking for us is EXACTLY the problem, when you do that, you silence our voices and you only speak from what you THINK we need, not from experience.
What you need to learn how to do is shut up, take the back seat and listen. Being an ally means sometimes, well pretty much all the time, you do not get to be front row, you do not get to have the attention, you do not get to be in the spotlight and a real ally should not care about having those things. We need support, not people to lead and speak for us. We need people from the dominant groups to help us get to the platforms we need to have our voices heard. An advocate speaks FOR people, further silencing minorities, an ally supports minorities in whatever way they are asked to. The only time being an advocate would be appropriate is if you are part of the marginalized group. So someone who is a pocs, can advocate FOR poc issues.
