Within domination-focused societies, and especially within the anti-culture of white supremacy, it is typical to think of "power" as being the ability to exert control.

There is an inherently coercive aspect to this, and arguably it is a form of violence against personal agency and autonomy. It is at the heart of society's deep lack of respect for consent.

But this is not the only way to understand the idea of power!

We can, as an alternative, think of power as the ability to willingly participate in change.

I like this option for several reasons. This framing emphasizes consent as a central, non-negotiable part of things. It removes a layer of insidious assumptions about "power" as an individualistic quality, and opens the door to understanding collective power as a very significant concept.

There is also a purposefully anti-ableist aspect to this understanding. It illuminates that we do not necessarily need to cause change; just being present and consenting for change is a small but important form of power! We are not trained to understand this as "power," but that is intentional, because it makes us feel power-less. If we do not know that our mere presence and consent are enough to add to the potency of collective power, we will not recognize the myriad ways that we can become powerful together.

As we develop the ability to connect with ourselves, and then connect with each other, we can establish a basis of trust and collaborative consent that makes us incredibly powerful - and this is, indeed, one of the biggest dangerous ideas of them all.