This summer, I had the privilege of working at a women’s cancer nonprofit. It’s a very small organization, just two middle-aged women on the staff and a group of volunteers who come and go. It’s been in the area for more than a decade, supporting women financially and emotionally through diagnosis and treatment. I’m their only intern.

When I told a friend of mine that I’m working at a women’s cancer nonprofit, he was quite confused. “Why would they want you working for them?” he asked, rightfully so. I’m a guy (a “dude,” whatever people call it nowadays) and I ought to be clueless about women’s issues. Why do I even deserve to be involved in an organization that’s made a difference in so many women’s lives?

See, the woman who’s the president of the nonprofit and my mentor, she’s been involved with women’s issues for a long time, an old-time feminist. In her mind, men and women are equally competent and qualified for basically anything. There’s no barrier or prerogative, for one gender or the other. Women’s issues are everyone’s issues, and so are men’s. It’s really this type of inclusive thinking that prompted the success of second-wave feminism, for whites to join in the March on Washington, for people to take up causes of others.

Increasingly, I have noticed disturbing patterns of exclusion rather than inclusion, especially in how my peers are reacting to recent social events. I get quite confused and irked when I see titles like "This is What White People can do for the #BlackLivesMatter Movement" floating out and being shared on social media. Now, I understand that there’s frustration in seeing people who are ignorant of your cause hopping on the bandwagon simply because it’s a trendy topic. Moreover, I understand the social movement theories that categorize social movement participants and make conjectures about how to maximize efficiency. As the great MLK put it, “darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that.” In trying to achieve success of a movement, we cannot sacrifice principle. If the goal is inclusion and equality, why would we act with exclusion and division?

Racial and gender issues have been around for centuries. We need to take one step at a time and watch every step we take. Our generation is used to having things done fast. Let’s have things done right.