Reading Time: 9 minutes Then I realized that I felt vulnerable. I felt overly vulnerable and not “safe” around the men who held very different views from mine in the world but that was not the issue. The issue was that their worldview did not have space for someone like me and my worldview held space for them. I did not shame them for believing differently from me. But they said, “O, that is just naive. That is just ignorant.” I believe the white male shut me down because he is not used to listening to a woman talk for 15 minutes, and a black, immigrant, and articulate one at that. Finally, they walked away. Not because they were not heard because I was sure to make sure I invited their perspective into the conversation, but they left, probably because they could not dominate the conversation or engage in a different viewpoint. They put their stake in the ground and it did not matter what anyone else thought.