The truth is, my original IG handle was inspired by Edward Abbey’s piece, Burning Out. Working in both publicly traded and private businesses for over 20 years, I’ve gone back to this prose over and over, finding solace and redemption. I’ve changed my IG handle a few times because over the years I’ve learn more about Abbey’s shit treatment of people that didn’t look like him, women included. But I continued to go back to @outlive.the.bastards as my IG handle because I identify with his irreverence for rules and appreciate a good flipping of the bird to illusions of power. I also thought it was too boring to simply use my name. However today I participated in a decolonization training with @native_mvmt and was reminded of just how many white men the outdoor industry specifically puts on pedestals. John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt, Edward Abbey - the list goes on. But check out their treatment of Black and Brown people - it’s horrendous! So I changed my IG handle tonight, to honor myself and the journey that I’ve been on to be better, to speak the truth even when my voice shakes and to help make space for others who need to be heard. This is a journey that will never end. I screw up along the way, but keep going. I may change my handle again, who knows. But I will never go back to a handle honoring a racist white guy, regardless of how good his writings may be.