Parable of the Sower

by Octavia E. Butler

For every attempt made by marginalized people to express anguish and seek change for historical (and ongoing) harm, there’s always pushback from those who demand that we suffer only in the expected ways, express that suffering with an acceptable tone, and end both our suffering and our complaints on demand.

People here in the neighborhood are saying she had no business going to Mars, anyway. All that money wasted on another crazy space trip when so many people here on earth can’t afford water, food, or shelter.

Why is the universe? To shape God. Why is God? To shape the universe.

All that you touch, You Change. All that you Change, Changes you. The only lasting truth Is Change. God Is Change.

A tree Cannot grow In its parents’ shadows.

President Donner isn’t the only one breaking up and selling off science and space projects.

All struggles Are essentially power struggles, And most are no more intellectual than two rams knocking their heads together.

They kill and kill and kill, Until they are exhausted and destroyed, Until they are conquered by outside forces, Or until one of them becomes A leader Most will follow, Or a tyrant Most fear.

I’m still learning how dogged people can be in denial, even when their freedom or their lives are at stake.

The store was full of people eager to put up with the inconvenience and invasion of privacy if only they could buy the things they needed in peace.

Embrace diversity. Unite— Or be divided, robbed, ruled, killed By those who see you as prey. Embrace diversity Or be destroyed.

“What did your father think of your idea of God?” “He never knew.” “You never had the guts to tell him.” I shrugged. “He’s the one person in the world I worked hard not to hurt.”

I wonder what you have to do to become a cop. I wonder what a badge is, other than a license to steal.