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blah blah blah blah blah.
Okay. One more time. I'll keep at it until everyone gets it right. I'm not giving up on you cause I'm not giving up on me!
from HERE
ten ways to tokenize or alienate a non-white person around you
(or, ten examples of the racism we witness on a regular basis)
by basil and billie--with a little help from our friends.
1- walk up to that black girl you barely know in the co-op and say "what do you think of the new (insert hip-hop artist here) album."
2- ask one of the only arabs in your community to write the article for your newspaper on the situation in palestine.
2a- then, after they write it, take their research, re-write the article and sign your name to it.
3- in a big group of many activists, say "how can we bring more people of color into our struggle."
4- in a big group of many activists, say "black people don't have the time to care about trees".
5- go up to the Makah woman at the unlearning racism workshop and say "I saw a program about Crazy Horse on PBS, he did alot for your people."
6- act like the only people of non-white ancestry in your community are the ones visible to you. 6a- assume that light skinned people around you are white without ever knowing their ancestry.
7- talk about race as if the only groups are black and white.
7a- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white and hispanic.
7b- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white, hispanic and asian.
7c- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white, hispanic, asian and native american.
8- picture a violent, irrational arab everytime the word "terrorist" is mentioned. ignore the arabs who do not fit into this stereotype.
9- look to a non-white person in the room everytime racism is brought up.
9a- make sure they have the last and most defining word on the subject.
9b- sympathetically and silently agree with everything they say.
9c- thank them profusely.
10- fearfully avoid assertive non-white people in your community.
And Raybear would like to add a number 11 way for white folks to alienate non-white folks: start any sentence with "That's not racist, because __________" or "I'm not into being politically correct."
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
(And go HERE for tools for white guys (and grrls) working for social change.)
from HERE
ten ways to tokenize or alienate a non-white person around you
(or, ten examples of the racism we witness on a regular basis)
by basil and billie--with a little help from our friends.
1- walk up to that black girl you barely know in the co-op and say "what do you think of the new (insert hip-hop artist here) album."
2- ask one of the only arabs in your community to write the article for your newspaper on the situation in palestine.
2a- then, after they write it, take their research, re-write the article and sign your name to it.
3- in a big group of many activists, say "how can we bring more people of color into our struggle."
4- in a big group of many activists, say "black people don't have the time to care about trees".
5- go up to the Makah woman at the unlearning racism workshop and say "I saw a program about Crazy Horse on PBS, he did alot for your people."
6- act like the only people of non-white ancestry in your community are the ones visible to you. 6a- assume that light skinned people around you are white without ever knowing their ancestry.
7- talk about race as if the only groups are black and white.
7a- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white and hispanic.
7b- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white, hispanic and asian.
7c- talk about race as if the only groups are black, white, hispanic, asian and native american.
8- picture a violent, irrational arab everytime the word "terrorist" is mentioned. ignore the arabs who do not fit into this stereotype.
9- look to a non-white person in the room everytime racism is brought up.
9a- make sure they have the last and most defining word on the subject.
9b- sympathetically and silently agree with everything they say.
9c- thank them profusely.
10- fearfully avoid assertive non-white people in your community.
And Raybear would like to add a number 11 way for white folks to alienate non-white folks: start any sentence with "That's not racist, because __________" or "I'm not into being politically correct."
Lather. Rinse. Repeat. And repeat. And repeat.
(And go HERE for tools for white guys (and grrls) working for social change.)
no subject
"now i'm not racist, but __::insert blatantly racist statement here::_______"
i dunno, man. i feel sometimes like i need a 200-level course for overcoming racism. like, i feel like i struggle with growing up in a racist society and how that feeds into my own racism like every day--but on the other hand, i'm not stupid. i know how to treat humans like humans. i know that i don't have the right to assume i know about a person's identity/race/culture, and i definitely don't have the right to make unsolicited comments on or feel like i have some ownership over another person's identity. i know how to shut up.
on the other hand, i feel crushed by the weight of all of it. i end up feeling paralyzed by the assumptions i've been brought up by society to have (and while i can know that such assumptions are bullshit, that doesn't mean that i don't know what they are supposed to be), by the assumptions i assume people have about me, by what i assume people assume i am assuming. (whee, that word is fun to type!) i think i think too much.
does this make any sense?
no subject
i think i often tend to view racism as a personal psychological phenomenon -- as behavior modification experiment on myself. the more i learn about my own assumptions, the more assumptions appear. it's like a bottomles pit, which is rather daunting and can not always be terribly inspiring and motivational. i mean, who likes to work on projects that will take a lifetime and still won't be done? but now that i've started i can't imagine stopping. but i know it's a real risk -- one day, i could just be tired, and decided to stop working on it and feel justified because i've "done so much already" so i can just coast. it's hard to stay rejuvenated, though it probably helps to have close friends who are the recipients of racism every day, so i realize that no matter how 'hard' it might be for me to overcome stuff, i'm still in a privileged position -- or at least i will always have a position of privilege to go back to.
unfortunately no matter how much the prodigal son you are, the white family will always welcome you back.
no subject
Never, ever, ever begin a sentence with, "I'm not racist, but..."