Everyone's A Little Bit Racist

[tielan]

My first post for ibarw: International Blog Against Racism Week.

When I first heard/saw the AvenueQ song on YouTube, I was much amused at the grain of truth in the song.

There's nobody in the world that objects to all racism everywhere. It's just not possible - not when the question of personal identity is so powerfully and intrinsically written into one's genetic code, which affects one's appearance, which affects one's perception of self, which is influenced by the society in which one lives.

The world is divided in our heads, with a line separating the darkness behind the eyes that is 'me' and the everything else that is 'not me'. The division extends beyond the 'me' and the 'not me' however, to the 'them' and the 'us'. A division of people by appearance, by race, by intellect, by commonality is an elemental touchstone of being human. You are of the tribe or you are enemy, you are with us or against us, you are of the race that knows Joseph or you are not.

Find me someone who doesn't have a 'them' and an 'us' in their brain and I will show you someone utterly, completely insane.

And race is an indeliable part of the concept of 'me', and therefore a very significant part of the concept of the 'us'.

So, yes, everyone is a little bit racist - the song has that right.

However, just because everyone's a little bit racist doesn't mean that all racism is acceptable, or that one should dismiss another's protests against racism on the grounds that the protester is also showing racial biases.

That was one of the arguments against witchqueen's post: that she had no right to protest the use of the word 'miscegenation' because she used the word 'honky' in the post where she revealed her conversations with the daily-deviant mod(s). The argument held shades of the daily-deviant moderator's early protest that "everyone is going to find something insulting on the internet!"

I'd venture to suggest that, just as being slapped on the wrist isn't equal to being beaten up and left for dead and our reactions to the two examples of physical violence should be proportionate to the injury caused, so too, there are shades of racial bias. Some racial biases hold the weight of history, power, and privilege behind the various terms, behaviours, and languages, and that can't be ignored - or else one is just building on the institutionalised racism of the past and adding to the problem.

Everyone is little bit racist, but that doesn't mean all racism is equal.

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For those who would like to support ibarw, or think further on race relations in fandom and in RL:

1. Some suggestions for things you can do to support IBARW,

2. a list of links to icons and icon-makers for IBARW,

3. a list of links to race-related resources to read and think over.

Comments

[beanie-j.livejournal.com]

Yes.

Furthermore, I think people are quite self-serving in regards to their motivations to fight prejudice in general too. People care more about that which affects them personally.

[tielan]

Oh, absolutely. We tend to mostly take up the causes that speak to us as individuals and which resonate with our own experiences.

People will always automatically perceive that which impacts them as more important than that which doesn't.

[beanie-j.livejournal.com]

To be honest, one of the reasons I've closed off a lot from race discussion is the blithe dismissal of the sufferings of other human beings based on the supposition that such matters are of no relevance in a discussion about race. This is not in any attempt to remain ignorant - I appreciate the point that PoC are trying to make and their need to discuss and educate - however part of me cannot help thinking how this is possible by dismissing other people out of hand, usually based on that person's colour. I just find it a little difficult to take someone seriously when they are trying to get me to see their point of view regarding one thing, yet in the next breath there is an inference of something which is similar not mattering.

Race as a subject of prejudicial matter seems to 'trump' anything else that might be mentioned, usually because other prejudice is mentioned by white people - most often because the main area of focus in race discussion is the United States and white people are an overwhelming majority of that population. Being fair, a white person mentioning their experience of say, homophobia, which creates a totally diverting tangent in race discussion is a bad thing. It is moving the focus of discussion and in no way helps the original point.

That said, prejudice and the mechanisms that lead to it are all one and the same, even if the motivation for each one is different. Racism and homophobia (and any other prejudice for that matter) are borne of the single 'Us' and 'Them' ideal, of misunderstanding and miseducation, and in some cases you can add a massive dose of plain and simple hate. Because of this I'd assert that the only way to end any prejudicial behaviour would be to stop upholding the ideal of 'Us' and 'Them'. Which means things like "Your experience of prejudice isn't important to me and isn't valid in this discussion" needs to stop being said. Whether people like it or not, these prejudices are all tied together by a common thread and you cannot end racism without ending these other prejudices too, simply because as long as 'Us' and 'Them' is a part of how people perceive the world around them there will always be opportunity for prejudice. I actually sometimes wonder if this sort of behaviour in prejudice debates comes as a result of people not wanting their own shortcomings brought to light rather than their belief that is is irrelevant.

No-one is denying the existence of institutional racism or the effect it has on the lives of PoC - such an attempt would be foolish and hopefully met with the disdain it so deserves - however gender, age, sexual preference and disability are also matters subject to of institutionalised prejudice. All are insidious and despicable and ruin the lives of the people who are victim of them in some way.

cont below...

[beanie-j.livejournal.com]

...cont. from above.

My friends and I were recently discussing the HP issue when a friend of mine popped up with - "Prejudice is just something that spoils a white person's day. It ruins a person of colour's life," and I recall reading something of a similar vein somewhere on LJ recently. Both left me fairly disgusted to be honest. To draw from Peggy McIntosh's essay 'White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack' where 50 examples of privilege are listed...I give you a small list based on my own experiences of mental health prejudice.

'Sane' person's privilege

I am not legally required to declare something on every job application that will hinder or totally destroy my chances of finding employment.
I can take a job with an affirmative action employer without having my co-workers on the job suspect that I got it because of my disability registration.
If my day, week or year is going badly, I need not ask of each negative episode or situation whether it had to do with my disorder.
I can be pretty sure of finding people who would be willing to talk with me and advise me about my next steps, professionally.
I can do well in a challenging situation without being congratulated for holding my shit together.
If a traffic cop pulls me over, I can be sure I haven't been singled out because a check on the registration of my car and thus my driving licence has revealed a registered health problem.
I can be late to a meeting without having the lateness reflect on my abilities as a person.
I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my mental health issues.
I can travel alone or with my spouse without expecting embarrassment or hostility in those who deal with us.
I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social.
If I wish to take a 14-day holiday to the United States (or probably anywhere else for that matter), I won't be subject to ignorant prejudice of said nation that requires I obtain a visa.

[tielan]

I agree that racial prejudice shouldn't doesn't "trump" all other kinds, although, along with sexuality, and gender, those types of prejudice are certainly the most commonly noted and outed in the media and among others.

Do you have any ideas on what might help a better understanding of mental illnesses and disabilities by 'sane' people? I mean, I have very little knowledge of that area myself - I've never had a physical or mental condition to consider.

[beanie-j.livejournal.com]

Definitely. I mean, whatever the media is discussing or highlights is always going to get more attention.

I'll have to go away and think about the latter...

[inalasahl]

That was one of the arguments against witchqueen's post: that she had no right to protest the use of the word 'miscegenation' because she used the word 'honky' in her response.
Just a quick note to say that witchqueen did not use the word "honky" in her response or in her communication with the d_d mods. The word appeared on the icon she used with the post where she discussed the e-mails that had passed back and forth.

[tielan]

I've adjusted the text to match what I meant. (I knew she'd used the term 'honky' in her LJ post, not in the response to the d-d mods. Apologies for that.