Inside, Not Outside

The moment the line between opposition and participation stops being so clear

We were standing in an airport, of all places, when it came out.

Not in a meeting, not in a hearing, not in one of those rooms where everyone is a little more careful with their words. Just in transit, in between things, which is usually where the more honest thoughts slip through. The conversation had been circling something familiar, the sense that we were once again pushing up against the same wall, the same resistance, the same feeling that no matter how clear the case, how strong the outcomes, something larger kept us on the outside of it, shaping the terms without ever quite being accountable to them.

And then someone said it, almost casually, like it wasn’t meant to carry much weight.