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read this.
April 20, 2008
I don't really have anything to add to this LiP Magazine article, Uh-Obama:
Note, never has a white politician been confronted with questions about his or her ability to transcend race, or specifically, their whiteness. And this is true, even as many white politicians continue to pull almost all of their support from whites, and have almost no luck at convincing people of color to vote for them. In the Democratic primaries this year, Obama has regularly received about half the white vote, while Hillary Clinton has managed to pull down only about one-quarter of the black vote, yet the question has always been whether he could transcend race. The only rational conclusion to which this points is, again, that it is not race per se that needs to be overcome, but blackness. Whiteness is not seen as negative, as something to be conquered or transcended. Indeed, whereas blacks are being asked to rise above their racial identity, for whites, the burden is exactly the opposite: the worst thing for a white person is to fail to live up to the ostensibly high standards set by whiteness; it is to be considered white trash, which is to say, to be viewed as someone who has let down whiteness and fallen short of its pinnacle. For blacks, the worst thing it seems (at least in the minds of whites) is to be seen as black, which is no doubt why so many whites think it's a compliment to say things to black folks like, "I don't even think of you as black," not realizing that the subtext of such a comment is that it's a damned good thing they don't, for if they did, the person so thought of would be up the proverbial creek for sure.
Imus
April 10, 2007
I am tired of reading reports about Imus' racist comments that are couched in this language of "black people are angry."
Seriously...what the fuck is up with THIS:
"[Howard Kurtz was quoted on NPR as saying] he thinks Imus is NOT bigoted, and he thinks most listeners understand that, but several major groups of black and women journalists have called on the networks to fire Imus..."
Relegating the offense Imus' racist bullshit inspires to the realm of "women and minorities" is just the same bullshit racism that makes it ok for someone to make the fucking comments in the first place. And what the fuck is up with this "Oh, he's an ass to everyone, therefore it's ok." bullshit? I am going to start walking around and kicking everyone in the shins, and no one better arrest me, because I'm not kicking any one racial/political/cultural/orwhathaveyou group any more than I am another!
Shit fucking A. It is all OVER the media, too, this "Well, what do you have to say to these black leaders" line.
I guess I am just glad I am a woman, and am therefore justified in my anger. Oh, thank you, holy media...for giving me something to be justifiably pissed about!
frickin' frackin' fuckin' a!
Debriefing Halloween
November 2, 2006
I found this link, with an excellent pre-OR-post-Halloween activity: via a discussion about offensive Halloween costumes I was pointed to by addicted to race.
White Lillies
April 7, 2006
You know...it's really funny that this post received an errant comment yesterday, because I was thinking about the song yesterday. I was at a meeting on the campus of one of the schools I work at, and I noticed that there were white lillies planted in the courtyard. And I found it odd, considering the demographic makeup of the school. It was much the same idea as the song, only I don't think the wacky kids chose to plant the white lillies - rather it was the lilly white administrators. So, it actually wasn't funny at all.
"The Look"
April 6, 2006
Janine posted a little something about Dr. Leary and post traumatic slave syndrome:
you know *the look* that all black women can give a child, whether hers or not, that will stop whatever behavior it’s aimed at? i know you know cause we all have it. dr. leary reminds us of how we don’t let our children play unchecked in public. white children are free to run about in a bank, for example, but we don’t allow our children to exhibit that kind of behavior in public and use *the look* to curb it instantaneously. her theory of PTSS posits that that behavior is an adaptive response to slavery when it wasn’t safe to let our children romp like that.
And it made me think about the conversation that erupted on this blog awhile back about children in public spaces and the expectations people have of parents to control their children.
I'm pretty sure we talked about how privilege interacts with child-rearing, and how lower-income mamas and mamas of color are more apt to feel pressure to force their children to behave in a certain way in order to feel "acceptable." But I had never considered the further-reaching implications of this. I really didn't tie it in with slavery and safety and an ingrained cultural response.
I think this raises way more questions than it answers, so I guess I need to read Dr. Leary's book.
Isn't that just like a racist...
December 6, 2005
I've been so busy writing these long, naval-gazer posts that I totally missed blog against racism day. Fuck!
While I'm sitting here feeling like a dweeb, you might as well read this post at Alas, A Blog.
This ought to make Amanda Panda's head explode...
November 7, 2005
Now we're supposed to be tolerant of hate groups:
In the week preceding the Klan’s appearance, local blogs and chatrooms were filled with angry, hateful rhetoric—not from the Klan or other traditional “hate-groups”—but from the supposedly “tolerant” left.
Dear Klan supporters (however psuedo-reluctant you might be):
Cry me a freaking river.
Sincerely,
Drucilla B. Blood
WNBA Player Is Gay
November 7, 2005
Thanks to Afro Netizen for pointing out This article about Sheryl Swoopes' coming out:
But Swoopes's announcement has been met in the sports press with what the Associated Press correctly described as "a shrug of indifference." San Jose Mercury News columnist John Ryan wrote, "Let's face it: On the list of shocking headlines, 'WNBA player is gay' falls somewhere between 'Romo took steroids' and 'Steinbrenner is angry.' "
I'm not a fan of basketball, so this is news to me. What interests me about this article is the indirectly stated assumption that women in sports TEND TO be gay, so it's no big deal. That's an incredibly sexist assumption right there, on top of all of the rest.
I don't even know what to call this post.
November 4, 2005
And I really don't even know what to say about it except "brace yourself before reading it."
Learning something new.
October 31, 2005
Thanks to Marian I learned something new first thing this morning:
But in an age of increasing tribalization around the world, the fact that Einstein and Paul Robeson, two of the 20th Century's most famous and popular figures, were not only friends but co-chaired the American Crusade to End Lynching and shared a dozen other anti-racist activities, could serve as a role model for millions. Yet the story has remained untold — until now — as has Einstein's support for W. E. B. Du Bois, his friendship with Marian Anderson and his many ties with the African American people living in Princeton's own little ghetto, in and around Witherspoon Street."
UBS: Us & Them
October 19, 2005
More diversifyification | Prometheus 6
On Tuesday, October 18, 2005, three African American former employees of UBS Financial Services, Inc. (“UBSFS”), filed a class action lawsuit against the company in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York alleging racial discrimination in hiring, promotion and other employment practices. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of all African Americans who were, are, or will be employed, or who sought employment at UBSFS, as brokers, non-broker officers, and other professional positions. The lawsuit seeks to put an end to years of racial discrimination at UBSFS. Information concerning the lawsuit can be obtained at www.ubsfsdiscrimination.com.
Owning your bullshit - and calling it out.
October 17, 2005
I want to applaud Mike Wise forliving up to his name. I appreciate the way he cops to his bullshit, and then ever-so-articulately brings up the issue of Native American sports mascots.
[Link via Miz Geek]
Statistical Information about Crime and Race
October 11, 2005
I'm so glad someone was able to pull together the statistics about race and crime and make the point that Bill Bennet's comments were not egregious because they called for hypothetical genocide, but rather that they wrongfully forwarded the notion that African Americans are a criminal race:
The better question for public debate is this: do the actual government statistics bear out the claim that Blacks contribute disproportionately to the crime rate? Or is this largely a stereotype, which is driven by the disproportionate rate of ARRESTS and CONVICTIONS of Black people? And does the over-focus on Black crime conceal an alarmingly high crime rate within the white population?
Read the entire thing & if you can stomach the unabashed racism in the comments, read them, too.
In reading the comments, the paradox is clear: the problem with anyone pointing out that racial disparities exist in crime rates due to institutional racism is that institutional racism enables people to discount the idea that racial disparities exist. And it goes on and on.
[link via P6]
Flood of Emotion
October 10, 2005
pw: philadelphia weekly online
"There are certain images of cruelty," says Blockson, "that are burned into your brain forever."Emmett Till's beaten and broken body lying in a casket.
Police officers beating Rodney King on a Los Angeles street.
Now there's Katrina, and the family waving their arms from their rooftop, the man staring quietly from his attic window, the thousands wading through chest-high water.
"Untreated wounds make the body sick," says Francis. "And our legacy of race and racism is an open wound in our society that we haven't treated, and that can only lead to a deterioration of the body. And by the body, I mean our country. Some people don't like going to the doctor, but that doesn't make the wound go away."
[via negrophile]
Someone's dreaming of a white christmas in New Orleans
October 3, 2005
HUD Chief Foresees a 'Whiter' Big Easy
A Bush Cabinet officer predicted this week that New Orleans likely will never again be a majority black city, and several black officials are outraged.Alphonso R. Jackson, secretary of housing and urban development, during a visit with hurricane victims in Houston, said New Orleans would not reach its pre-Katrina population of "500,000 people for a long time," and "it's not going to be as black as it was for a long time, if ever again."
Speaking the Unspoken
October 2, 2005
Negrophile linked up This article about Bennett:
Is not William Bennett's final solution to the crime problem a logical - albeit cataclysmic - conclusion for those who consider African-Americans a criminal type? Much evidence suggests that this sentiment is held by a large if not majority segment to whom Bennett merely gave voice. Unlike Herr Bennett, however, most Americans will not slip and reveal themselves in conversation with strangers, and thus their deeply held opinions rarely show up in polls. So we must rely on anecdotes and the life experience of the black citizenry who are often suspiciously viewed - and treated - as criminals by their white brethren.
Which reminds me that I actually first heard about Bennett's little Hitlerian slip on, er, the Decemberists forum (OK, I'm a total fucking nerd. Sue me.) & someone (who I'm, perhaps wrongfully, assuming was a white male) responded to the reference by saying "It's not surprising that he THINKS those things, it's just surprising that he was dumb enough to SAY them."
Think about that for a moment, especially in the context of that article. Just. Think about it. Or don't. In fact, on second thought, maybe you shouldn't think about it at all.
Fucking Cockroaches
September 12, 2005
This is the kind of bullshit that is rearing its ugly head A LOT lately.
A bunch of indignant white people extrapolating the (imagined) demographic of Katrina victims to the black populous at large, and then using that strawman to condemn an entire race as lazy, good-for-nothing welfare bums who have been raised to rely on the government to take care of them.
Fuckers.
And what's all of this crap I've been reading lately about people who have worked for non-profits that serve low-income individuals coming out and talking shit about the people they have served. That's such fucking bullshit. You can't work in these types of organizations and have that kind of attitude. You can't help people if you don't respect them. Then there are the self-congratulatory "If I hate black people so much, why am I sending money to the Red Cross?"
Fuckers.
Don't even go there if you are sick of it. I just ended up there because I wanted to read something about Kanye West being booed. I ended up with way more than I wanted.
Thanks to the Lone Star Times, not only do I get to be ashamed to be American, but I have to be embarrassed about being white.
Motherfuckers.
The US, The UN, and race
September 12, 2005
Egalia at TN Guerilla Women has posted an excellent aggregation of links and quotes from various sources about the state of people of color in the United States.
Barack Obama on Katrina, Race, Poverty.
September 11, 2005
This man is so freaking brilliant. He's not just a great public speaker; he's an artist.
I am this fucking close...
September 9, 2005
To posting links to "Black People Love Us" and "Rent-a-Negro" on the homeschool list*.
Last night, one ignorant racist fuck actually used faux ebonics to make a point. I keep thinking I need to just back away from the email, but the though of that kind of thing just hanging out there without any outrage following it just bothers me. I can't let that happen in my community. Yes, there will be racist fucks. No, I'm probably not going to change their minds by expressing outrage over their fuckheadedness. But I responded anyway. I said:
Oh, come ON.So you folks are arguing about civility, and we still have people who are using faux-ebonics to illustrate their racist talking points.
I am worried about our future if your children are learning about race and culture from you people. Seriously. This is disgusting.
The fuckhead actually had the nerve to tell me I was attacking her, and that she just types that way when she's tired.
Right.
She types offensive shit IN FUCKING QUOTES when she's tired.
But her children learn about race and culture from all of her black friends, so I need to just mind my own business because *I'M* the one engaging in "personal attacks."
For fuck's sake.
*The thing that stops me is that 90% of the people just won't get it.
The Black Commentator ALWAYS nails it.
September 2, 2005
The Black Commentator - Radio BC Text: Will the ‘New’ New Orleans be Black? - September 2 2005
Some would say it is unseemly to speak of politics and race in the presence of a massive calamity that has destroyed the lives and prospects of so many people from all backgrounds. But I beg to differ. As we have witnessed, over and over again, the rich and powerful are very quick to reward themselves as soon as disaster presents the opportunity. Remember that within days of 9/11, the Bush regime executed a multi-billion dollar bailout for the airline industry. By the time you hear this commentary, they may have already used the New Orleans disaster to bail out the insurance industry — one of the richest businesses on the planet. But what of the people of New Orleans, 67 percent of whom are Black?[...]
In place of the jobs that have been washed away, there could be alternative employment through a huge, federally funded rebuilding effort. But this is George Bush’s federal government. Does anyone believe that the Bush men would mandate that priority employment go to the pre-flood, mostly Black population of the city.
Hmmmm...I wonder who BushCo hired to do the clean up work...could it be...
It's so predictable, it's not even fun anymore. Well, I guess it never WAS fun...
Rewind.
August 17, 2005
I want to go back to something I posted yesterday in passing. The follow-up to the murder of Mr. de Menezes by officers in London.
Yes, I said murder. I said murder because they killed an innocent man, and then they tried to cover up the crime with lies, which would seem to indicate that they were aware of the fact that what they did was, um, murder.
The reason I want to rewind, though, is I'm curious if anyone has seen the right-wing response to this follow-up. Because they were all crowing about how innocent people don't run and whatnot, and they were justifying this whole policy of shoot first (seven times in the fucking HEAD) and ask questions later (when you are damn sure the only witness is dead.)
It's kind of hard to justify that now that we know 90% of the so-called suspicious behavior was a fucking lie, isn't it?
Cindy Sheehan said something in an interview about not paying her taxes and daring the government to sue her so we can put this war on trial. I hope the family of Mr. de Menezes has the wherewithal to do the same in London.
unanswered questions...
August 16, 2005
The Observer | Focus | Death in Stockwell: the unanswered questions
He wasn't wearing a heavy jacket. He used his card to get into the station. He didn't vault the barrier. And now police say there are no CCTV pictures to reveal the truth. So why did plainclothes officers shoot young Jean Charles de Menezes seven times in the head, thinking he posed a terror threat?
I think most of us can answer that question.
[link via ex-lion tamer]
This sounds hauntingly familiar...
August 7, 2005
Thus, the liberal retreat from race was rationalized in terms of realpolitik. The argument ran like this: "America is too racist to support programs targeted specifically for blacks, especially if these involve any form of preference which is anathema to most whites. Highlighting racial issues, therefore, only serves to drive a wedge in the liberal coalition, triggering white flight from the Democratic Party, and is ultimately self-defeating." That this reasoning amounted to a capitulation to the white backlash did not phase the political "realists" since their motives were pure. Indeed, unlike the racial backlash on the Right, the liberal backlash was not based on racial animus or retrograde politics. On the contrary, these dyed-in-the-wool liberals were convinced that the best or only way to help blacks was to help "everybody." Eliminate poverty, they said, and blacks, who count disproportionately among the poor, will be the winners. Achieve full employment, and black employment troubles will be resolved. The upshot, however, was that blacks were asked to subordinate their agenda to a larger movement for liberal reform. In practical terms, this meant foregoing the black protest movement and casting their lot with the Democratic Party.
Still more fucked up shit.
June 14, 2005
Update: Now! With Pictures! And Commentary! And Utter Idiocy!
Fucked up Shit.
June 10, 2005
Marian's Blog: The tasering of (just happens to be Black) Malaika Brooks, dropping her son at school
And I keep wondering "what if." If you begin to enforce "the law" by physically grabbing a person (an unarmed, pregnant mother for example) from behind the wheel of her or his car (having verified, as U.S. police usually do, that it is their car), then you shock them 1, 2, 3 times with 50-thousand volts of electricity applied against the neck or throat (a very sensitive part of the body) - where do you go from there?
I don't think I want to know the answer to that question.
Why I homeschool, reason eleventy hundred gazillion
May 24, 2005
Because, in public schools, racism is OK as long as you don't bring it to press:
Ahlfinger said the caption apparently was intended as a placeholder until the yearbook staff could identify the student.She told the Waxahachie Daily Light that the label was a poor choice, but it was not meant maliciously nor meant to be printed.
THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is the type of SOCIALIZATION that people are always telling me my kids just aren't getting from the homeschool experience.
While I fully admit there aren't a whole lot of non-white homeschoolers out there, you can bet that when I read this news article to my kids, they will be horrified.
They know what's wrong with that. Do your kids?
The preceding fucked-up shit was brought to my attention by Ded Space.
White Citizens of Tulia
January 14, 2005
...who feel they are being demonized by the media can really just suck my left one.
Pay attention, progressive homeschoolers.
November 29, 2004
MSNBC - Alabama vote opens old racial wounds
Black students in Alabama have struggled on some national tests, with 73 percent of black eighth-graders rated below basic competency in math, compared with 32 percent of white eighth-graders. Killings also frets about Alabama schools -- just as schools in many other parts of the country -- steadfastly resegregating. This phenomenon, which is getting increased attention among national education experts, is attributed to a kaleidoscope of factors, including the suburban migration of white families, private school expansion and the rising popularity of home schooling among white conservatives.
Remember that the privilege that allows you to homeschool comes at a cost to others.
Also, what the FUCK? Nice "moral values," Alabama.
Teaching Young Children about Native Americans
November 23, 2004
ED394744 1996-05-00 Teaching Young Children about Native Americans. ERIC Digest.
Young children's conceptions of Native Americans often develop out of media portrayals and classroom role playing of the events of the First Thanksgiving. The conception of Native Americans gained from such early exposure is both inaccurate and potentially damaging to others. For example, a visitor to a child care center heard a four-year-old saying, "Indians aren't people. They're all dead." This child had already acquired an inaccurate view of Native Americans, even though her classmates were children of many cultures, including a Native American child. Derman-Sparks (1989) asserts that by failing to challenge existing biases we allow children to adopt attitudes based on inaccuracies. Her book is a guide for developing curriculum materials that reflect cultural diversity. This digest seeks to build on this effort by focusing on teaching children in early childhood classrooms about Native Americans. Note that this digest, though it uses the term "Native American," recognizes and respects the common use of the term "American Indian" to describe the indigenous people of North America. While it is most accurate to use the tribal name when speaking of a specific tribe, there is no definitive preference for the use of "Native American" or "American Indian" among tribes or in the general literature.
[courtesy of redheaddread]
KRS-1's ACTUAL views on 9/11
October 19, 2004
For the record, I am an American philosopher. I speak and seek truth. If the slander that the Daily News has printed regarding my political views has disrespectfully offended anyone in any way I truly apologize. Again, it was never my or Hiphop’s intent to disregard, disrespect or demean the tragedy of September 11th 2001 and those that died that day.However, we do have a voice and a point of view and if you are not prepared to hear what Hiphop has to say about its view of world events then don’t ask!
For those who read a PORTION of them, with nuance removed.
I'm beginning to think, actually, that American Society is completely nuance-impaired.
For Bryan: The operative definition of racism
August 19, 2004
I suppose it's the operational definition, as well.
POWER + PRIVILEGE = RACISM
(works for sexism, too)
That was easy. Now, how 'bout you come over here and help me rip up some freaking carpet?
My anti-privilege scorecard
August 19, 2004
This will be a quickie, because i have to get ready for work in a minute here...
A lot of people like to argue against white privilege by providing their resume of "things that put them at a disadvantage" in our society. OK. Alright. I'll bite. Here's my resume. Bring out the violins:
I was Born the 7th out of 7 children in a white, middle class neighborhood. My mother had 3 kids from a previous marriage, my father had 3 kids from a previous marriage, and then they had me. My mother's first husband refused to pay child support. Skipped town. My mother adopted my father's children, whose mother had died. My parents divorced when I was three. My father never repaid the money my mother gave him to start a business after they divorce. He also never paid child support, in spite of the fact that he was/is very wealthy. My father is mentally ill.
My mother refused to move out of our white (and I do mean white...with real live block busters and all, I found out later) middle class neighborhood because 1) it would be too disruptive to our lives and 2) where the hell else was she going to live with 7 kids? So, I was the "poor" kid in the rich schools.
I got straight A's through high school and never went to college. I felt there was no money for me to do so, and I had no interest in spending what I felt was an exhorbitant amount of my own money and time without really knowing what I wanted to do with myself. I moved out at 18 and moved into an apartment with 4 or 5 other people.
I'm getting off track, here. At this point in my life, I still do not have a college degree, but I do have a good job doing something I love to do. I am a single parent of two boys who I homeschool. I work hard, even when I'm hardly working. I can't afford the freaking lawyer's fees to finalize the divorce with my freaking husband who refuses to freaking pay child support. My mom has kicked in some money for that, but I have no idea where she got it.
My ex-husband, too, has had his share of struggle in his lifetime. He's one that would argue that he has ever benefitted from white privilege, and his is not my story to tell, but there's much in his family history that would be a compelling argument against the existence of white privilege.
However, I have no doubt whatsoever that I would not have accomplished all of what I have accomplished without the benefit of white privilege. And this is not to imply that I don't deserve what I have, but it is to imply that some deserve better than what they have. I want to write more about THAT later, too.
AND it's not at all to minimize the struggle that I've faced in my lifetime and the struggles that I continue to face. In writing this, I'm not trying to INVALIDATE the hard work of anyone. I understand we all have our struggles, and comparisons, as the buddhists say, are odious. And DEFINITELY definitely there is such a thing as class privilege, which I have mostly NOT been on the receiving end of. Yet, I still am very aware of the privilege I do have, as a white person, that i have NOT earned, in spite of all that I have earned.
That's it for now. More later. For instance, I want to really examine why people cling so desperately to the idea that white privilege doesn't exist, when all the evidence contradicts that. And I'd still like to talk about the role that capitalism plays in this equation...and how class and privilege come together and fall apart.
But...later...later.
Coupla thoughts about gender v. race
August 18, 2004
I'm digging the conversation on the other thread, and i have a couple of thoughts about gender v race as constructs.
Kim asked a compelling question:
It does beg the question though, does being a male then by definition make one sexist?
and Bryan answered:
I can think of one HUGE difference between race and sex, and that's biology.
That's a great question and I think Bryan is at least partially right in his answer, but I think there's more to it than that.
I thought about kim's question all the way to work because, like her, I do feel that male privilege is a little easier to hold people accountable for than white privilege. And it occurs to me that in our culture the gender split is way more equitable than the race split - and even in the race divisions, there are multiple divisions of culture and class that make it a more complex power relationship.
In other words, I think, in some respects, it's easier for women to hold men accountable because there are more of us, and by sheer numbers, we have the ability to hold the power in check to a certain extent. Not that I think the power is actually held in check, because there's a lot more going on in the equation than majority can account for...but it might explain why some of us feel more open to challenging male privilege than white privilege.
Does that make sense? I dunno if it does, because I'm sort of winging it.
In terms of Bryan's answer - yes, men and woman are physically different, and I respect that you understand that different doesn't necessarily mean better - and that there are no such inherent differences between people of color and white people. HOWEVER, you still have to consider the SOCIAL constructs of race and gender, in addition to the physical aspects of same.
One question that was never answered in the affirmative action debate was, if white privilege doesn't exist, how do the people who argue against its existence explain the wage gap/justice gap between people of color and white people? I'd really like to hear that answered, and I resent that the fact that I was insistent upon hearing the answer and insistent about presenting what I felt to be the only explanation one can claim if one refuses to acknowledge white privilege (e.g. white superiority) caused some of the judges to dock points from me, and caused my opponent to cry foul. I'm still waiting to hear the answer, either from my opponent or from someone else who wants to argue that white privilege doesn't exist.
But, I'm jumping ahead, and that might be counter-productive to this discussion. I still want to talk about the ways in which I have committed "passive" racism (passive makes it sound WAY more benign than it actually is) and the ways in which I see sexism committed in a more passive way all of the time. I'll get to that tonight before I go to bed, if I have time.
Hi. My name is Drucilla Blood, and I am a racist.
August 17, 2004
I was hoping to put my real name in this post, because I feel like if I'm going to discuss issues of race and accountability, I should at least come clean about who I am in real life. However, there are just too many posts on this blog that I don't want co-workers or family members to stumble upon accidentally (even though they probably already have) so the best I can offer is that I am, in fact, a real human with real living, breathing friends and loved ones and acquaintances. Real life challenges and real life successes. I'm pretty normal in most respects.
And, being a member of the white race, and living in a society in which the white race is the race of privilege, I am, in fact, a racist. Which is to say that I participate in a racist system, and in spite of all of the things about me that might put me at a disadvantage in the world, I am inherently advantaged when it comes to race. I am a racist simply by existing. I was awarded white privilege by virtue of being born. There's not really a damn thing I can do about it other than acknowledge it and recognize how it affects my life and the life of those around me.
This is not something that can be excused, nor is my acknowledgement of it something that I should be congratulated for. It just is.
The problem I had with the debate at Iron Blog was that there seemed to be more than one person (not just my challenger) who would have us believe that white privilege doesn't really exist, or that there's some sort of benefit that comes from white people and people of color falsely "claiming" that white privilege exists. Maybe to hold over the head of white males? I dunno.
I don't know what it's like to be a person of color in our society. I do know what it's like to be a woman. And, while race and gender do not necessarily present the same issues, I do understand being a person who holds white privilege from the standpoint of being a person who does not hold male privilege.
Which is to say that there are issues of power that are inherent in relationships between white people and people of color, just as there are issues of power that are inherent in relationships between men and women. They might not be noticable, and what I've observed is that the closer you are to someone who has less societal privilege than you have, the more leeway you have in the relationship, but the issues never go away. At least not as far as I have seen.
I think that's about all I can write for right now. I'm getting bogged down by my own thoughts on the subject, and I feel like I need to do this a little bit at a time...partially (selfishly) to see if people are actually listening, although this stuff is good for me to put into words whether or not they get read. Partially, also, because there's just so much to say, and i feel like I ran the ironman triathalon last week rather than participated in a mere debate at iron blog. So I'm sorta tired.
The questions, because I promised them, that I have had to ask myself and that I continue to ask myself, is...really...how are my interactions with people colored by my biases and privilege? How are the daily choices I make influenced by those same biases and privileges? What do I miss out on by acting on biases and privileges, and what can I gain by being more aware of how race influences the relationships that I have with other people?
I just got a phone call in the middle of writing this, and now i'm abslutely exhausted. I'm going to try to pick this up tomorrow and see where I can take it. Until then...take care...
2nd rebuttal - affirmative action
August 13, 2004
It's up at Iron Blog. My ass hurts, I'm really really dizzy, and someone seriously needs to come and clean my kitchen for me.
Affirmative Action - First rebuttal
August 11, 2004
check it out...
Racism 101
July 21, 2004
I'm sort of working my way backwards through the last week or so of Prometheus 6. Miss a day, miss a lot.
Whoah, and then there's this one.
Why are white people so invested in denying that racism exists, even when it exists within them (us)? It makes no sense. Of COURSE you (we) are racist. If you (we) are disgusted enough with racism to want to fucking deny it to the face (or computer screen) of someone who says he experiences it regularly, why can't you (we) take two fucking minutes to think about how it is manifested in YOU (us)?
Damn.
Then there's this, and I quote Mr. 6, himself:
White America wants off the racial hook no less than Black America does. The hook is in deep, though. Getting it out will hurt, no matter what. So stop looking for a painless method of not being racist. At this point in out history, after just 40 years of Black freedom and 40 years of white folks having to live with the dual-soul syndrome DuBois wrote of in Black folks a century or so ago, there is no painless way for ANY of us.
And this just makes me want to scream and tear my hair out, among other things.
There are more posts in the series, which is why Mr. 6 tends to group things like this together and put them elsewhere. Just keep reading.
(edited to add my own accountability. Nyeesh.)
Evidently, Professor Kim didn't hear the news...
July 19, 2004
that, according the the author of the previous post, Mumia Abu Jamal is just a "pet"...Professor Kim's News Notes: 07/18/2004 - 07/24/2004
Noting disturbing racial patterns in the application of the death penalty in Pennsylvania, the NAACP urged it chapters "throughout the United States and the world to support the international call for Mumia Abu-Jamal to be released from death row," according to an article on Jamal's website.
Thank you, Robert Jensen.
July 6, 2004
For articulating so plainly what I could not articulate about Fahrenheit 9/11...ZNet |Iraq | Fahrenheit 9/11 is a Stupid White Movie
How dare I describe as racist a movie that highlights the disenfranchisement of black voters and goes after the way in which military recruiters chase low-income minority youth? My claim is not that Moore is an overt racist, but that the movie unconsciously replicates a more subtle racism, one that we all have to struggle to resist.First, there is one segment that invokes the worst kind of ugly-American nativism, in which Moore mocks the Bush administration's "coalition of the willing," the nations it lined up to support the invasion of Iraq. Aside from Great Britain there was no significant military support from other nations and no real coalition, which Moore is right to point out. But when he lists the countries in the so-called coalition, he uses images that have racist undertones. To depict the Republic of Palau (a small Pacific island nation), Moore chooses an image of stereotypical "native" dancers, while a man riding on an animal-drawn cart represents Costa Rica. Pictures of monkeys running are on the screen during a discussion of Morocco's apparent offer to send monkeys to clear landmines. To ridicule the Bush propaganda on this issue, Moore uses these images and an exaggerated voice-over in a fashion that says, in essence, "What kind of coalition is it that has these backward countries?" Moore might argue that is not his intention, but intention is not the only question; we all are responsible for how we tap into these kinds of stereotypes.
More subtle and important is Moore's invocation of a racism in which solidarity between dominant whites and non-white groups domestically can be forged by demonizing the foreign "enemy," which these days has an Arab and South Asian face. For example, in the segment about law-enforcement infiltration of peace groups, the camera pans the almost exclusively white faces (I noticed one Asian man in the scene) in the group Peace Fresno and asks how anyone could imagine these folks could be terrorists. There is no consideration of the fact that Arab and Muslim groups that are equally dedicated to peace have to endure routine harassment and constantly prove that they weren't terrorists, precisely because they weren't white.
I think I found the film more redeeming than Robert did, but I was disturbed by much of what I sensed as racism threaded throughout, even though I couldn't for the life of me specify where that feeling came from.
I think it started with the description of Stevie Wonder as "little" Stevie Wonder, but then someone explained to me that Stevie Wonder used to be called "Little Stevie" when he was still a wee child star. Still...I thought it somewhat odd that he would use such a patronizing nickname for such a big star...one that I had never heard.
That was the most obvious instance to me, but I did cringe at the images associated with the other states in the "Coalition of the Willing" and the pan of the all-white peace group. And I'm sure if I were to watch the film again with pen and paper in hand, I would be able to note many other areas where I got "That Feeling."
So, what does that mean? Does it mean the film is not worth watching? Does it mean that Michael Moore is an inadequate spokesperson? Does it mean that we need to protest at theaters where F 9/11 is playing?
I'm not sure what it means, to tell you the truth. I guess it just means that privilege and racism rear their ugly heads in every medium and from every source, and we need to be aware of the messages we are receiving and sending.
I also agree with Robert that the problem is the assumption that The American Way is somehow the default Way To Be...and I have more to say on this subject, and tying it in to the book I'm currently reading, Lies My Teacher Told Me, as Loewen also makes the point that history is viewed as a series of pre-ordained events...that history "just happened" as opposed to being a series of choices that could have taken us in a completely different direction.
That will have to be a different post, however, as I'm out of time for now...
Ugh.
May 10, 2004
I can honestly say that Joe Taylor is the reason I'm not really active at OS Politics. After the homeschooling discussion we had in which parents were characterized as "amatuers" and teachers "professionals" - and much, much more that I've managed to successfully put out of my mind, I just didn't feel that OS Politics was a place where I could really assert myself. The guy is all over the place there, and we're sure to hear his (in my opinion) whacked-out perspective on whatever issue he deems himself an authority. Now he's taking on race. Or attempting to do so, anyway. I don't have time to adequately respond to (or even fully read) this thread at the moment, but I'm so enraged by his assertions that I can't just let it slip past. I will get back to it later, although it seems that there are others who are appropriately dealing with the situation.
Gah.
The Purse Incident
April 18, 2004
George posted his take on Blog justice and its discontents as relates to this incident which occured at an "elite" SXSW party.
Not that my opinion matters at this point, but you know...I read the purse thread awhile back, before there were a lot of comments, and I have to admit that I was very uncomfortable with the assumptions that were being made. But I didn't feel like I had enough information to question the assumptions.
I just know that I have had a kneejerk reaction to accuse someone of theft who didn't deserve the accusation, even though all signs seemed to point in that direction. I know that racism is very deeply ingrained in almost everyone, and I know that it's very easy to jump to conclusions and it's probably not a good idea to advertise those conclusions unless you are absolutely sure.
Whether this knowledge applies to this situation is beyond my ken. But some of the comments in that thread, at least, gave me the impression that there were others who would have made accusations based on insufficient evidence. And, while the accusations of racism *might* have been misplaced when it came to Danah, there was unexamined racism all over the thread.
While I do hope that Danah recovers her stolent property, I can't believe that she didn't consider AT ALL the implication of posting pictures of a group of black men at a party who she was accusing of theft. And I can't imagine the posting of such images juxtaposed with the accusation would net her any sort of justice.
And, here's the thing, whether it was racist of Danah or not to post the images...it's the result of the divided nature of the web community that causes these men to "stick out like sore thumbs" at a web event. So many people in the comments were talking about how if it was white men who had done the thievery, they would have been just as determined to bring them to justice seemingly without thinking about all of the prejudice that brought these men in the photos to be accused of the crime in the first place.
If they were white men, would someone have stopped to chat with them at the entrance? Would people have been paying "extra" attention to them? Would someone have remembered walking in on one of them allegedly shuffling through the purse?
These are rhetorical questions, because there is no way of knowing. But pretending like the thread was race-neutral is ignoring the fact that racism exists in our justice system (vigilante or otherwise) and, even though (if Danah's certainty is to be believed) racism might actually help to solve this crime, it can just as easily lead down the other path, allowing innocent people to be blamed or harassed because they happen to be the "wrong" color.
Lost in Translation
February 22, 2004
I was so conflicted after I saw "Lost in Translation." When I got home, I was compelled to read what other's thought about it. And, while I don't agree with some that the movie could just as well have been set in an American city, I do feel that the movie used stereotypes and racism to get its point across, and I believe strongly that it was absolutely unnecessary and even harmful to the overall story.
I think there was a lot of potential for comparing Bob's and Charlotte's different stages in life (and marriage) with the stark contrast between old and new Japan. And I do see the importance of the fact that the characters are essentially stranded (perhaps in part by their own stubborn cultural centrism) in a country halfway around the world, and brought together by circumstances that would normally not exist in the world they normally inhabit. I think much could have been done with the setting of the film without the overuse (or even any use) of tired cliches.
The sad thing is that the scene near the end of the movie reminded me of a modern day rosebud, and yet the more I think about the film, the more I am disturbed by the underlying theme of cultural chauvinism. Yes, Murray proves to us that Bob is basically a self-important ass who yet manages to muster a great deal of tenderness both for his long-suffered/ing wife and his potential love interest, Charlotte. This dualism could have been achieved merely by him behaving with blithe arrogance rather than outright racism, and would have been further enforced by the incident with the lounge singer.
I was uncomfortable every time the old "r/l" confusion joke was paraded about. While I think it's possible - even probable - that the intent was to contrast the lack of care Murray's character had for most people with the tenderness he displayed for Johansson's character, the audience just laughed. Perhaps I'm guilty of snobbery, but I think the subtleness of this was what was really lost in translation...on the audience.
I'm not sure what is most bittersweet about the movie "Lost in Translation." Is it the sweet, unrequited unconsummated (thanks, angela!) love story between the jaded Bob and the sullen Charlotte, or is it the fact that Coppola was too lazy and/or unsophisticated to tell the story, which is one of contrasts, without resorting to the same old racist stereotypes about Japanese culture and language?
"enlightened" racism
February 10, 2004
Aaron pointed me in the direction of a p6 post referencing this post at the mideast weblog.
Normally, I would put a small excerpt here, but I don't think there's any small passage I can quote from any of it, as all of it is worth reading.
What's wrong with this picture?
January 19, 2004
Aaron links up some of the right-wing blogs who are taking issue with this satirical military poster at whitehouse.org.
Evidently, their urge to form a knee-jerk argument against anything that contains the word "whitey" and an image of a "non-whitey" has blinded them to the real message of the poster. It seems all of the righties are arguing that this poster is strictly a dig on Dr. Rice, rather than a very astute observation about the status of people of color in the current administration (well, likely ANY administration...but we'll just use the current administration as an example).
The best article about Rush that I have seen yet
October 5, 2003
You really need to read this assessment of Rush's race baiting. Tim Wise intersperses it with references to Limbaugh's little drug problem that had me totally laughing out loud. My favorite was this one:
what if McNair were to claim that racism against blacks was the reason he failed to get the credit he deserved? Odds are good that Rush and his loyal listeners would hit the roof, blow a gasket, and then have to pop twenty or thirty pills to ease the pain.
I'm sorry. I know it's terribly immature, but I just can't stop laughing about the fact that Rush is a fucking pillhead.