(no subject)
Mar. 8th, 2009 10:04 amSeveral people on my flist have stepped up to the plate and made a public stance today on RaceFail09. I haven't, because (1) my flist is tiny and (2) OMG, y'all, I'm so open about who I am that you have to know where I'd stand on this one.
Then I read this response from![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bossymarmalade in kita0610's post on why saying something publicly is important (thank you janedavitt for the link): "My sister (who recently has been diving headfirst into discussions of race on her journal due to her work on the Avatar whitewashing protest) has been telling me that with every post she makes, new people on her friendslist reveal that they're *not* anti-racists..."
So, maybe y'all don't know.
On Bigotry of Any Kind, Anywhere: No "othering" ever. Ever. Not because of who you fuck, or how you fuck, or whether or not your legs work, or what church or coven you do or don't attend, or what clothing size you wear, or whether your genitals are innie or outie or have been surgically altered, or how much cash is or isn't in your pocket, or how much pigment is in your skin, or, or, or. And anyone who has ever been othered for any reason has the right to use whatever tone they please in calling out people who other others, consciously or not, including me. Because I grew up in the U.S., and the messages of dismissal (at minimum) and hatred (all too often) are endemic, and I am appalled when I spot my own unconscious internal biases, some of which even apply to groups of which I myself am a member.
Specifically Regarding Race: I used to think highly of the little, local police department in the small town where I work. But then, I have never been pulled over at night while wearing my store's work uniform and asked what I was doing in the neighborhood. Every single POC who works on night shift with me (and we've got a rainbow) has had that experience. That's my white privilege showing. When I was younger, because of other -isms that apply to me, I didn't think I had a whole lot of privilege; I would have argued the fact. Boy, was I wrong. I am now trying to sit down, shut up, listen, and learn.
On Outing: No. Nope. Nada. Nein. Never. Not anyone else's decision to make, nor repercussions to live with. Just, no. (OK, one exception: any public authority figure who gets caught engaging in a behavior they have publicly excoriated and who then tries to deny it, i.e. any politician who spouts homophobic rhetoric who then gets caught in a homophilic act. But that's not what happened, here.)
Then I read this response from
bossymarmalade in kita0610's post on why saying something publicly is important (thank you janedavitt for the link): "My sister (who recently has been diving headfirst into discussions of race on her journal due to her work on the Avatar whitewashing protest) has been telling me that with every post she makes, new people on her friendslist reveal that they're *not* anti-racists..."So, maybe y'all don't know.
On Bigotry of Any Kind, Anywhere: No "othering" ever. Ever. Not because of who you fuck, or how you fuck, or whether or not your legs work, or what church or coven you do or don't attend, or what clothing size you wear, or whether your genitals are innie or outie or have been surgically altered, or how much cash is or isn't in your pocket, or how much pigment is in your skin, or, or, or. And anyone who has ever been othered for any reason has the right to use whatever tone they please in calling out people who other others, consciously or not, including me. Because I grew up in the U.S., and the messages of dismissal (at minimum) and hatred (all too often) are endemic, and I am appalled when I spot my own unconscious internal biases, some of which even apply to groups of which I myself am a member.
Specifically Regarding Race: I used to think highly of the little, local police department in the small town where I work. But then, I have never been pulled over at night while wearing my store's work uniform and asked what I was doing in the neighborhood. Every single POC who works on night shift with me (and we've got a rainbow) has had that experience. That's my white privilege showing. When I was younger, because of other -isms that apply to me, I didn't think I had a whole lot of privilege; I would have argued the fact. Boy, was I wrong. I am now trying to sit down, shut up, listen, and learn.
On Outing: No. Nope. Nada. Nein. Never. Not anyone else's decision to make, nor repercussions to live with. Just, no. (OK, one exception: any public authority figure who gets caught engaging in a behavior they have publicly excoriated and who then tries to deny it, i.e. any politician who spouts homophobic rhetoric who then gets caught in a homophilic act. But that's not what happened, here.)
