ABSTRACT
We are at a crossroad in history where many democracies are experiencing a return to populist nationalism, full of intense and overt exclusionary narratives and unfriendly walls, founded on ideologies and narratives that intensify notions of Us against Them along ethnic, gender, class, sexual orientation, (dis)abilities, religious and immigration status. While exclusionary narratives and policies depend on citizens getting tangled up on identity politics (i.e., Black versus White, men versus women, straight versus transgender, native versus foreign), we believe that inclusion, equity, and social justice depend on citizens awakening to the maker of systems of oppression: ideologies of domination. In this chapter, we present our thoughts on how autoethnographies of lived experiences in-between cultures and identities can help awaken people to the need to identify, deconstruct, resist, and overcome the ideologies of domination that continue to shape and inform systems of oppression. Like many others before us, we invite you to join us in our imaginations about becoming smugglers of hope and inclusion across borders of oppression and exclusion.
