How do we learn to see people around us when they are not producing things—art, community, writing, etc. –that makes us want to see them? How can we see “untapped,” hidden, or invisible brilliance around us? And why does social visibility only become possible when we are producing things? Why is it so hard for us to see the magic and beauty of those around us who are not producing things, who choose not to produce things, who may never produce consumable things for us?…
... We so easily replicate capitalist and colonialist logics of what it means to be a “good”community member when we forget that we are all intrinsically valuable in our existence and that our value shouldn’t depend on assimilating to any one else’s standards of productivity or extroversion. We forget that simply tokenizing the one trans woman of color or disabled queer who is asked to speak on every other panel does not actually mean we are supporting and uplifting all marginalized people of those identities.

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