Decency and Intersectionality
Every so often a post happens in a group I belong to that is for people who belong to one minority where the poster's remarks are really inappropriate toward a different minority. This is always a bit depressing, because it'd be nice if people would learn from being part of a minority that it's not okay to be bigoted against others or why these things are so hurtful. Some people do, but lots of people don't. However, what I do find really nice is that in the communities I read, this is usually called out as inappropriate and the vast majority of commenters object. So, it's nice to see that people do learn. Of course, often many of the people commenting belong to both minorities, but some of them don't and simply don't like the bigotry. But it's also important to remember when in a group for X some of those X are also Y.
And I decided to post about it, because I read this rather nice open letter, Brother to Brother: A Letter to Herman Cain, about being Black and gay.
A lot has been said about intersectionality (belonging to multiple minorities) and I don't have anything profound or new to say about it. It's definitely harder than just belonging to one minority, because even groups designed to help you cope with one of your minorities may attack you for a different one. If they are minorities that aren't blatantly obvious and you can pass, you have the question of whether you want to be in the closet about a minority you are a member of even when getting support for issues related to being a minority. That all sucks. And yes, that isn't a profound statement, I know.
But still, I am glad that culturally, I think a lot more people are starting to understand. Even people who really don't, I think may be at a slightly better place than they would have been in the past. It's not improving equally for all minorities, I'm sure, but I think many people are generally getting better at recognizing bigotry, not being okay with it, and speaking up when appropriate. There's a long way to go, but I think we're often moving in the right direction. And I'm glad to see groups dedicated to one issue not allowing bigotry about a different one. Being against bigotry should be about more than just not wanting people to treat you badly or not wanting people to treat people you know badly. You don't need to know any (insert any group here, some examples may be gays, Muslims, Black people, disabled people, transsexuals, Australian people (okay that isn't usually an issue, but I was chatting with some entertaining Australians one night during some insomnia so it's on my mind), etc.) to care about people being treated decently. And it's nice when people can generalize what they learn about (insert something positive toward a minority feminism, anti-racism, anti-ablism, queer rights, etc.) to the broader spectrum of humanity. Bigotry may come in more flavors than ice cream, but at its roots, it's all pretty similar. You dehumanize some group of people while also generalizing things thought to be true of some of them to the larger group of them. And doing better about it is also pretty similar, treat people with respect until they as an individual give you good reason not to, and try to avoid assumptions about what someone is like because of some small aspect of who they are. People are complicated, take some time to learn the details of the one you're interacting with. Oh, and if more than a dozen people are telling you you're wrong about something and you don't have a very good reason not to respect their opinion, it's probably a good idea to at least consider that you might be wrong and double-check your own rightness. You aren't necessarily wrong, but it's an indicator that there is some other viewpoint or belief that might be worth understanding, even if you end up disagreeing with it.
And I decided to post about it, because I read this rather nice open letter, Brother to Brother: A Letter to Herman Cain, about being Black and gay.
A lot has been said about intersectionality (belonging to multiple minorities) and I don't have anything profound or new to say about it. It's definitely harder than just belonging to one minority, because even groups designed to help you cope with one of your minorities may attack you for a different one. If they are minorities that aren't blatantly obvious and you can pass, you have the question of whether you want to be in the closet about a minority you are a member of even when getting support for issues related to being a minority. That all sucks. And yes, that isn't a profound statement, I know.
But still, I am glad that culturally, I think a lot more people are starting to understand. Even people who really don't, I think may be at a slightly better place than they would have been in the past. It's not improving equally for all minorities, I'm sure, but I think many people are generally getting better at recognizing bigotry, not being okay with it, and speaking up when appropriate. There's a long way to go, but I think we're often moving in the right direction. And I'm glad to see groups dedicated to one issue not allowing bigotry about a different one. Being against bigotry should be about more than just not wanting people to treat you badly or not wanting people to treat people you know badly. You don't need to know any (insert any group here, some examples may be gays, Muslims, Black people, disabled people, transsexuals, Australian people (okay that isn't usually an issue, but I was chatting with some entertaining Australians one night during some insomnia so it's on my mind), etc.) to care about people being treated decently. And it's nice when people can generalize what they learn about (insert something positive toward a minority feminism, anti-racism, anti-ablism, queer rights, etc.) to the broader spectrum of humanity. Bigotry may come in more flavors than ice cream, but at its roots, it's all pretty similar. You dehumanize some group of people while also generalizing things thought to be true of some of them to the larger group of them. And doing better about it is also pretty similar, treat people with respect until they as an individual give you good reason not to, and try to avoid assumptions about what someone is like because of some small aspect of who they are. People are complicated, take some time to learn the details of the one you're interacting with. Oh, and if more than a dozen people are telling you you're wrong about something and you don't have a very good reason not to respect their opinion, it's probably a good idea to at least consider that you might be wrong and double-check your own rightness. You aren't necessarily wrong, but it's an indicator that there is some other viewpoint or belief that might be worth understanding, even if you end up disagreeing with it.