From a clueless white woman, on RaceFail2009
I have not been posting much, and commenting sparsely, but two things have now annoyed me sufficiently that I feel the need to vent. I know I still don't understand much about racism, but some of it should be blatantly obvious to anyone who's ever opened a book on feminism.
One thing was reading davidlevine 's entry on writing CoC, and especially this comment: "Maybe I'll write something safer, something where all the characters are white, or aliens or cartoon characters or disembodied spirits, and I don't have to deal with issues of race and culture." I'm going to leave aside the idea that there are no cultural differences between various white groups, and focus on race. So, if all the characters are white, there is no race to deal with? Saying that having white characters only would protect you from race issues is like saying that writing a book with male characters only means you can avoid issues of gender. This is privilege speaking, and the specific technique of the norm being invisible - there is white, and then there's race, which is everyone else. Just like in my field, where there's Women's lit and Black lit and Gay lit, and then there's Literature, which is White men's lit and therefore does not need a qualifier. Naturally, this carries an implication that White men's lit = Literature = the Real Stuff. Also, considering race to be Someone Else's Problem, and rather specifically PoC's problem, is a wonderful example of privilege: last I checked, only those not affected adversedly by race have the luxury of walking away from it. Believing that your life can be free of implications of race is refusing to see everyone who doesn't look like you. I cannot deny my share in a society that is fundamentally racist.
The other thing is the usage of all the techniques I have encountered as a woman and a feminist to keep PoC out of the debate. The tone argument is the most often heard, at least by me - the requirement that something be said in a non-offensive way for you to listen to it. Firstly, there is of course no inoffensive way; this technique aims at making everything you don't want to hear possible to ignore because the speaker was being so nasty about it (gasp, horror). Secondly, it is a technique that is based so explicitly in power imbalance that I'm surprised people are not embarrassed to use it. "You must speak your truth in the format that doesn't offend me, or I refuse to hear it" - this is naked power use. If you are truly engaging in a dialogue, you don't attempt to control the format of exchange. Nor do you throw a temper tantrum when you can't. If you don't want to hear, just refuse to - don't pretend you would have if the subject had been couched in terms more suited to your delicate sensibilities. Extra fail is awarded for combining this approach with a complaint about PoC's oversensitivity.
I can understand, though not approve of, white men using the same old power techniques on women, LBGT, PoC, and whoever else they consider beneath them. I find it inexpressibly sad to see those techniques used by those groups themselves in order to dominate and oppress others. Much of my life, I have learned about, and resisted, these techniques because they were used against me, to keep the uppity woman in her place. Seeing other women use them breaks my heart, and were I older and more prominent in the feminist movement I would say with G'kar: Have I taught you no better than this?
One thing was reading davidlevine 's entry on writing CoC, and especially this comment: "Maybe I'll write something safer, something where all the characters are white, or aliens or cartoon characters or disembodied spirits, and I don't have to deal with issues of race and culture." I'm going to leave aside the idea that there are no cultural differences between various white groups, and focus on race. So, if all the characters are white, there is no race to deal with? Saying that having white characters only would protect you from race issues is like saying that writing a book with male characters only means you can avoid issues of gender. This is privilege speaking, and the specific technique of the norm being invisible - there is white, and then there's race, which is everyone else. Just like in my field, where there's Women's lit and Black lit and Gay lit, and then there's Literature, which is White men's lit and therefore does not need a qualifier. Naturally, this carries an implication that White men's lit = Literature = the Real Stuff. Also, considering race to be Someone Else's Problem, and rather specifically PoC's problem, is a wonderful example of privilege: last I checked, only those not affected adversedly by race have the luxury of walking away from it. Believing that your life can be free of implications of race is refusing to see everyone who doesn't look like you. I cannot deny my share in a society that is fundamentally racist.
The other thing is the usage of all the techniques I have encountered as a woman and a feminist to keep PoC out of the debate. The tone argument is the most often heard, at least by me - the requirement that something be said in a non-offensive way for you to listen to it. Firstly, there is of course no inoffensive way; this technique aims at making everything you don't want to hear possible to ignore because the speaker was being so nasty about it (gasp, horror). Secondly, it is a technique that is based so explicitly in power imbalance that I'm surprised people are not embarrassed to use it. "You must speak your truth in the format that doesn't offend me, or I refuse to hear it" - this is naked power use. If you are truly engaging in a dialogue, you don't attempt to control the format of exchange. Nor do you throw a temper tantrum when you can't. If you don't want to hear, just refuse to - don't pretend you would have if the subject had been couched in terms more suited to your delicate sensibilities. Extra fail is awarded for combining this approach with a complaint about PoC's oversensitivity.
I can understand, though not approve of, white men using the same old power techniques on women, LBGT, PoC, and whoever else they consider beneath them. I find it inexpressibly sad to see those techniques used by those groups themselves in order to dominate and oppress others. Much of my life, I have learned about, and resisted, these techniques because they were used against me, to keep the uppity woman in her place. Seeing other women use them breaks my heart, and were I older and more prominent in the feminist movement I would say with G'kar: Have I taught you no better than this?