"Instant judgment and punishment are practices of power over others. It's what those with power do to those who can't stop them, who can't demand justice. This injustice of power is practiced at an individual and collective level."
– adrienne maree brown
Every single relationship in the history of humanity is defined in some large or small way by a power dynamic. There is always a power imbalance.
Some entity (person, group, organization, country, etc.) always has more authority, more influence, more strength, more status, more money, more seniority, more tenure, more social acceptance, more privilege, more access, more autonomy, more agency, more opportunity than another entity.
This will never change.
But those of us who are committed to fighting for equity recognize that the inequitable distribution of power and the failure of those on the upside of power to use their power for good is the primary factor in the perpetuity of inequity.
We recognize that the powerful depend on the powerlessness of the people on the downside of power to uphold the status quo.
We recognize that that's how colonialism and racism and capitalism and sexism and ableism and classism and. . .are sustained.
And we recognize that that shit is fucked up.
And will continue to be so unless we fight the power for the long haul.