The other night I was driving around St Werburghs, Easton and that area of Bristol, and was getting nostalgic about the work I did with so many schools around there, i.e. my workshops on Relationships &amp; Sex Education.&nbsp;Remember the protests outside schools, with Muslim parents not wanting their children to learn RSE?&nbsp;Well I jumped into that hostile environment (cz apparently I just can’t help myself being a peacemaker!!) and helped schools to create inclusive, sensible, and moderate RSE curriculums appropriate for their diverse communities. I ran workshops with Muslim mums to help them understand why it was absolutely crucial for their children to have proper sex ed, and to allay their unfounded concerns that relationships education was going to ‘promote LGBT’ (what does that even mean?), and explain that it wasn’t against Islam. I also worked with the council, LGBT groups, and faith groups to facilitate respectful and compassionate conversations—trying to find nuance and compromise in an incendiary and volatile environment - all stirred up by the right-wing media and extremist groups (on both sides) who wanted to create a war where there really was no need for one.As we all know, the British elite likes to pit groups against each other. It’s classic ‘Divide and Conquer’, that old cornerstone of the Great British empire. And it’s a successful strategy! How else do you think a tiny island managed to conquer a third of the globe!Since then (this was a good few years back), the world has become even more polarised. The middle ground is being lost. Moderate and sensible voices are ignored—only extremes get any attention. That ends up sucking the middle in too, forcing people to pick a side because it's presented as a ‘war’ of utterly incompatible ideologies. (I can see this happening with the debate over women and transwomen - desperately trying to stay out of that one but I have a feeling I won’t be able to!!)BUT it’s very rarely about ideology. It's more about people just wanting to live their lives with dignity, freedom, and safety. Doing what's right for their kids and families. Feeling a sense of belonging. All the things that make us human.Which is why we always have to focus on our shared humanity—not our differences—which will always be exploited by those who want to keep us subjugated, controlled, and in a perpetual state of war. While we’re pointing fingers at each other and bickering in the playground, our capitalist/patriarchal overlords are rubbing their hands together, laughing at us, and planning even more devious ways of getting rich off us.So we have got to check ourselves when we find ourselves being drawn into fear, judgment, and dislike of ‘Others.’ Even—especially—when it’s based on ideological differences, e.g., around gender, religion, etc.&nbsp;In my EDI work, I have three principles that encourage everyone to lean into: Curiosity, Compassion and Common Sense. This is my little reminder (to myself as much as anyone else!) to stay curious and compassionate, and that a little common sense can go a long way in solving some of our social problems. It probably not as complicated as we have been convinced by those that want to keep us fighting and distracted.Stay awake people!!&nbsp;With Love &amp; Power,Aaliyah&nbsp;✊🏽💕✨

From RSE protests to culture wars, I share what taught me to hold the middle ground and focus on what really matters: our shared humanity.

Divide and Conquer: How Extremists and Elites Keep Us Distracted and Divided

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Divide and Conquer: How Extremists and Elites Keep Us Distracted and Divided

Divide and Conquer: How Extremists and Elites Keep Us Distracted and Divided

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