When I have a baby boy,
I will tell him every single day
that he is not the person society tells him he is;
that he is intelligent;
that he is capable of beautiful things;
that he is worthy;
that he was not born a threat;
that no matter his real imperfections he does not have to be consumed by someone else's imperfections.
I will tell him and I will show him,
over and over,
until he internalizes all of these things,
and then I will keep telling him
in case there is ever a moment of doubt.