whitewashing and whining.

[vikki]

Just boosting the signal on the topical subject, the recent racefail in the Supernatural/J2 Big Bang.

From one privileged white girl to another - elizah_jane talks about the importance of elucidating racism.
Like Clockwork - amonitrate talks about why the subject material is problematic and why this must be discussed

Comments

[miir]

I'm here via amazonziti -- I hope you don't mind the intrusion -- and I found this comment very interesting. I am a person of color living outside the USA but I do interact with a lot of white people online, many of whom I consider my friends; I notice that my talking about racefail has made them start discussing these things more (and, well, made them uncomfortable, perhaps) and some of them may feel bad that they are undergoing some sort of internal struggle, but I think it's right that there is struggle. Because all these beliefs and modes of thinking we have acquired from the systems in which we live aren't going to go away if we don't make a deliberate effort to root them out. Re: the point of pain and who has the greater struggle -- I don't think there's an appropriate point for comparison; it's not so much a question of "who suffers more" (which I find horribly problematic and often derailing) but what the system is doing to individuals, who it is aligned against, and who benefits from the power differential. An experience of systemic oppression cannot be usefully compared to an experience outside that oppression.

Still, I won't say that there is no struggle for those who benefit from privilege and try to change their behavior so as not to oppress or to hurt; the nature of it is vastly different, but it's still a struggle. I guess what I'm saying is, it's useful to acknowledge the necessity for this struggle -- perhaps not for every white person dealing with this, but certainly for some, as you yourself have written. And while for some people like me, reading such discussions may hurt (I will not say I didn't find some comments here rather-- painful to read) they do have their value if they are done in the appropriate spaces, with care and an acknowledgment of the history and the present state of the issues. I would also like to further note (not that I mean to imply you wouldn't consider this, just that it's overlooked so often I feel I need to put this out there again) it's important to consider that in the spaces where these discussions do take place, people need to be vigilant that further wrongness not be perpetuated -- it's really, really, really easy to do it wrong and center the issue again on the people who have privilege and their fear of being called out.

I hope that made sense. Thank you for the thoughtfulness of this post.

[vikki]

An experience of systemic oppression cannot be usefully compared to an experience outside that oppression.

I agree with all of this.

Trying to find the best language to describe the horrible feeling of guilt and frustration I had upon learning about white privilege and racism is difficult, because ultimately discussing it at all comes across as 'look at me and my pain!' The comparison then feels as though it must be drawn to emphasize that I am not saying my pain is 'important' in the general scheme of privilege (I am not hurt by it, I am helped). Nonetheless, the initial guilt (the veil being ripped from my eyes) being so staggering it becomes extremely tempting to run away from the problem via whitewashing, etc, and so I believe it must be faced head-on and dealt with so that the real problem - systemic white privilege and the disenfranchisement of PoC in particular - can then be addressed.

it's really, really, really easy to do it wrong and center the issue again on the people who have privilege and their fear of being called out.
I had not thought of it in so many words, but I will remember that. Thank you for mentioning it explicitly. I literally learned about all this last week, so I have a long, long way to go. I will do my best to check myself, and discussion, on that.

Thank you for commenting. :)

[miir]

This reply is a little late, but I just wanted to say: thank you again, and I hope it goes well for you, learning and dealing with this.

[vikki]

Thank you very much. I've reached the point where I feel comfortable focusing my attention outward and on the real problem, which is at least a step in the right direction.