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The Limits of Compassion

Cher Tan

22 March 2018

Within the last year and more, I’ve watched myself and other marginalised people around me tell their truths, truths I thought I knew even as our realities keep changing. Whenever I log on to the internet, I’m pressured by the need to continually identify, specify and classify, even if I am reticent offline. My finger is on the page, but movement is disjointed. This happened to me. This is what’s happening right now. Listen, everyone, this is wrong and we need to make things right. The feedback loop picks up on what is more popular and makes them more visible, while the quest for awareness is a never-ending Ouroboros. Who am I trying to convince?

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Meanjin is open again for subscriptions! Thank you all for your patience as we’ve undertaken the transfer of the journal to its new home.

The next edition of Meanjin will be available from December 2026. Information on the purchase of single editions – in print or ePub formats – will be available closer to time.

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  • In Print
  • Online Only
    • Latest Pieces
    • Reading Trails
    • What I’m Reading
  • Read
    • The Meanjin Papers
    • Poetry
    • Essays
    • Fiction
    • Memoir
    • The Meanjin Interviews
    • Experiments
    • State of the Nation
    • The Year In…
  • Books
    • Reviews
    • Australia in Three Books
    • What I’m Reading
  • Writers
    • Interviews
  • Buy
    • Subscribe
    • Where to buy
  • News
    • Announcements
    • Events
  • About
    • About Meanjin
    • First Peoples First
    • People
    • Editorial Advisory Panel
    • Copyright and Payment
    • Partners
    • Get Involved
    • Contact
    • Privacy
  • Search