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I get the feeling that some folks don't think racism is their problem.
On one hand, I feel the agreement bubbling up within me. I'm not overtly or intentionally racist. I try to judge people by who they are not what their background is. I don't have problems with people as racial types, I have problems with people as individuals.
On the other hand, the questioner within me demands to know: "If racism isn't my problem...whose problem is it?"
I considered that this morning and here's how I laid it out.
I guess I have a 'get-out-of-racism-free' card, in a way. I'm a Person-of-Colour but I tend to think of myself as being brought up white - the old banana joke. It would be nice to see more Asian heroes and heroines in mainstream TV but I take what I can where I find it - and sometimes my connection isn't with 'the Asian' character at all. My racial type has a different history of oppression, one that involved being looked down upon but doesn't involve slavery and the denigration of humanity. (And these days, all your university place belong to us. Muahahahaha! *cough*)
Still, just because I can use the 'get-out-of-racism-free' card doesn't mean I should.
If racism isn't the problem of the people who aren't racist - if it's the province of the people who are racist, then we're putting a lot of faith in humanity's ability to self-criticise. Abusers are not generally inclined to admit to being wrong, let alone likely to change their behaviour to accomodate the victim.
So, if racism isn't the problem of the people who aren't racist, and it's ignored by the people who are racist...that leaves racism as the victims' problem.
And I disagree that abuse is the problem of the victims; that bystanders have nothing to answer for.
So...racism is my problem, too.
On one hand, I feel the agreement bubbling up within me. I'm not overtly or intentionally racist. I try to judge people by who they are not what their background is. I don't have problems with people as racial types, I have problems with people as individuals.
On the other hand, the questioner within me demands to know: "If racism isn't my problem...whose problem is it?"
I considered that this morning and here's how I laid it out.
I guess I have a 'get-out-of-racism-free' card, in a way. I'm a Person-of-Colour but I tend to think of myself as being brought up white - the old banana joke. It would be nice to see more Asian heroes and heroines in mainstream TV but I take what I can where I find it - and sometimes my connection isn't with 'the Asian' character at all. My racial type has a different history of oppression, one that involved being looked down upon but doesn't involve slavery and the denigration of humanity. (And these days, all your university place belong to us. Muahahahaha! *cough*)
Still, just because I can use the 'get-out-of-racism-free' card doesn't mean I should.
If racism isn't the problem of the people who aren't racist - if it's the province of the people who are racist, then we're putting a lot of faith in humanity's ability to self-criticise. Abusers are not generally inclined to admit to being wrong, let alone likely to change their behaviour to accomodate the victim.
So, if racism isn't the problem of the people who aren't racist, and it's ignored by the people who are racist...that leaves racism as the victims' problem.
And I disagree that abuse is the problem of the victims; that bystanders have nothing to answer for.
So...racism is my problem, too.
Re: I promise last post...please forgive spelling PLEASE!
Racism may not be every person's problem (Reposted to add in I ment "Racism may not be every person's problem on a daily or monthly basis..."), but to those who do not experience Racism personally (or often)comes the ability to be the race in the situation that may be the same as the person doing it or saying it. In that Racist person's mind (such as one white person to another, one black person to another, one Mexican/Latino person to another, one Oriental person to another and so on...), the person of the same race they are talking to is one of them.
In being considered one of them as in same race, it creats an ability for that person to make the Racist feel uncomfortable or put off even if a little. A hint or stern eye squint that says I don't like this and you better not do anything or say anything while I am around or I might tell what you said here or retaliate. It says this is not exceptable behavior or way of talking.
No matter who you are...class, race, sex, well known or not, and so on...if you are human you have experienced some type of discrimination in your life knowing or not knowing. It is up to each individual...every single human on the planet to let their dislike even if it is an eye squint in this type of thing.
In that, one person at a time...the social norm changes...and dreams become reality.
Via metafandom
With that statement you are completely dismissing the fact that in the real world there is a thing called power. Yeah, you can be privileged in some aspects of your life while being oppressed in some others. That doesn't change the fact that you, being white, have power over non-white people. Even if you don't want it.
So black people can use the N-word. You can't. Yeah, because you are white. That's not racism. That word was used by white people to dehumanize black people. The people offended, not the offenders, are the ones who decide who gets to use the insulting word, and who doesn't. After all, it's an insult towards them, not towards you.
Because the power isn't balanced, it's ridiculous to try to say that 'racial-prejudice' towards whites has the same effect that racism towards non-white people. It doesn't. The former is probably due to people experimenting the later.
Here: http://www.zmag.org/Sustainers/content/2002-06/24wise.cfm
http://www.commondreams.org/views03/0920-06.htm
I can't explain it better.
Re: Via metafandom
Racism is not just the problem of the largest minority group, which in the next 5 years will be the Mexican/Latino groups. It is a problem for all humans. It is something that will continue to be worked out as it decreases. It has been around since before written word.
To be told I can do something or not only on the grounds of the color of my skin or my sex ... to me that is racist or sexist (respective).
I think Tielan said something about whose problem is it. Something about if you are not racist and don't really experience it that you might ignore it...well there is a reason some might try to ignore it and even to the stupidity of thinking it does not exist...because if you say anything even that you don't like it someone from the group having racism used against them will tell you that you don't know what it is like and that if you experience it that it is not that bad (telling the victum to suck it up because it was not that bad or often), so you keep your mouth shut.
I happen to be one of the people foolish enough to think it still exists and that even in small ways we can influence each other for the better. It is a very good thing to talk about things from different sides and in that I respect Tielan and send thanks for keeping these topics open and truthful.
:)
Re: Via metafandom
"In our 14 months in Hong Kong, I learned some brutal lessons about racism. First, it is not the preserve of whites. Every race displays racial prejudice, is capable of racism, carries assumptions about its own virtue and superiority. Each racism, furthermore, is subtly different, reflecting the specificity of its own culture and history."
I think I was looking at it from a personal point of view. I was thinking of times when I saw racism or experienced it. I have lived in areas where white/light skin was not the norm. I have even had a group of people surround me and say they were going to beat me up because I was white...until a black person spoke up for me (I was not even a teenager at that point, but the majority of the group was).
In middleschool living in a different part of the country, I was nicknamed "Indian girl." It is obvious to see my dark straight long hair matching my grandfather's black hair who worked at the school, and he was a 4th Cherokee. Only when standing next to him was my Native American background so obvious...other wise my German Scoth-Irish medium skin and brown eyes takes center stage when someone decides my race and judges me.
One guy called me a squaw or how ever you spell it then it was "Indian girl." It was also interesting that the school mascot was "Indian Brave." We did the chant at ball games and so forth. One boy even made it part of a class poem he read to the class about how straight my hair is.
Then in a twisted string of events, a teacher had a group of Native Americans come in and talk to the class about culture. I was stupid enough to ask about how they celebrate birthdays. One Native American man having learned our mascot was "Indian Brave" and saw me as yet another stupid white person gave back a very harsh response to which I put my head down and wished I kept my mouth shut. Yes, it encouraged me to keep my mouth shut.
Back to link above with assumptions, the white kids saw me as "Indian girl" and the Native American visitors saw me as "stupid white girl." But, they did not see me.
I think that things that happen to us can alter us to bring out the good or the bad. I just hope when I die that I brought more good to the world then harm. So, in my own job, family, and community I try to keep my eyes and my heart open.
Re: I promise last post...please forgive spelling PLEASE!
On a higher up level, words mean a different thing depending on who says it, depnding on what the context is. A word might have a certain random real world dictionary definition, but it might have been used historically as an insult. Which means that in that context people are likely to assume you meant the historical meaning when you use it. Or a word might have a highly personalized meaning for example within for family referring to a specific family event, but it will only have that meaning as long as it's used by people within that context.
It might be the same word, the same combination of letters, but it can still mean a variety of things depending on context (and the context can include who says a word and to whom).
Re: I promise last post...please forgive spelling PLEASE!
One of the problems that might come from using racial words that have a historical negative influence is that it might confuse outsiders.
It makes it look like they do it but complain because an outsider does. To someone who does not say it and that it is not about, it can look like the same thing. The outsider might not fully understand the emotional force behind the word or words like the phrase "drunken Indian" referring to Native Americans.
It is a problem. The who is saying it and to whom can cause a problem depending if the person hearing it knows the from who and to whom. It causes one to have to judge someones racial background to see if it is an insult or not. In literature and media, that can get complicated. So why use the words or phrases that have such potential to harm?