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rydra_wong's links to the current uproar over racism and cultural appropriation with interest and a great deal of apprehension. I haven't read anywhere near all the posts she has linked to, and I've ignored most of the replies on a lot of these items.
I've realized something about things I say and how they may be heard that, well, embarrasses me, but it's better to know than not to know. This may all be navel-gazing; take it for what it's worth, and if it helps someone else, great. If it only helps me, well, please don't laugh at me too much.
The final blow to my blithe disregard for how I sound wasstewardess's sarcastically-titled post How to use white privilege to make racism disappear. It reflected that some things I say are often used to dismiss racism as not a problem. I never mean to sound that way, but it's important to realize that that's how I may sound--especially because I say some of these things in class. It's not just Stewardess's post, though: I have in fact seen people doing what she describes, and I've seen other people rebut those sorts of arguments, and I've been horrified. I know that I don't mean these things as excuses for racism, and no one has said I do. I haven't been accused of anything, but I think I could be a lot clearer.
1. When I say that our definition of color is relatively recent, or that race is a cultural construct, I mean that there's no excuse for racism.
However, what I say may sound like "racism isn't a serious problem" or "this too shall pass."
I also mean "definitions of race can become more inclusive": I remember that Irish and Italians used to be defined as 'non-white' --as a reminder that labels can change, and sometimes they get in our way. That's not to say that we should be color-blind or ignorant of people's heritage. It's fine to be proud of your Irish roots, or your Russian immigrant ancestors, or your African heritage. It's better still to do that and respect other people's pride in their East Asian connections or their American Indian ancestry or their Italian descent.
I hope that in the future we can build a society that will view race and ethnicity in only the positive ways, and I look to the past for hope: "white society" came to include Italians, Irish, and usually Eastern Europeans. I want a society that isn't "white society" anymore, but a "society" that includes everyone. Maybe it's utopian--but we can at least do better.
It won't just happen, though. It takes work-- and I've seen a lot of people seriously committed to that work.
2. When I say that my family has experienced discrimination, I mean that we'd all better watch out, because what goes around comes around. We can't just relax in our privilege, both because it's wrong to ignore that other people don't share it, and because it's just plain foolish not to realize we could lose it at any time (by becoming disabled, for instance).
What I say may sound like "My family got through it; why can't yours?"
I do feel that having family members who have experienced discrimination helps my own understanding. That's not complete understanding, but one of the ways I approach discrimination and racism. "If so-and-so still remembers so vividly that discrimination from decades ago, how much more must it hurt to go through it today?" There's also, "if family members went through this much just to get and keep jobs, how much more harrowing is it when people threaten your life?"
It would be nice to say that people should just hear what I mean or ask questions if they're not sure, but reading some of the recent exchanges, I've seen how if you're getting hit with discrimination right now, you don't have the energy to inquire into everyone's motives, or even to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It's my job to get my meaning across clearly.
I'm a teacher. I talk about race as a social construction in class, and yes, I draw upon family examples. If students of any race hear not what I mean but what I sound like, then I've failed. I don't want either white students or students of color to hear "racism isn't a big deal" or "it happens to everyone," so I'd better be darned sure that if I mean, "If my family still feels the hurt of discrimination from decades ago, so I can only imagine what it feels to be suffer it now or to feel threatened," I'd better say "If my family still feels the hurt of discrimination from decades ago, so I can only imagine what it feels to be suffer it now or to feel threatened." If I mean, "there's no excuse for racism," I'd better say just that.
I do talk about these things in class, and sometimes I get funny looks. I saw them and thought, "Wow, people didn't know that Italians weren't considered white just a century ago" or "Wow, they don't realize how pervasive racism can be!" I think now students might have been thinking, "Wow, I can't believe she's falling back on that old excuse!" I've just assumed my intent was clear, but other people saying very similar things had very different intents. Students can't exactly ask, "Excuse me, but did you mean to just dismiss my experience?"
I'm still trying to figure my way through the mess. Today, I saw a post on the Old English etymology of a word, and the etymology was mistaken. So I posted, with all appropriate evidence, noting that I was just covering the etymology. Almost all the respondents have been quite civil, and I learned that while I was right about the OE, the word also has Old Norse and other Germanic cognates, and that in fact it's in current use among some people--and it's a graver insult in some circles than in extant OE sources. (You can read the whole exchange here, if you like.)
I made the post because it bothered me to see a mistake in my field. The original poster is right in her main point: the word is an insult, even if we debate how bad an insult. I hope I didn't distract from the main debate, or worse, excuse the insult. She accepted my rather pedantic reply very graciously--which I do think contrasts notably with the people who have been hurling aspersions, particularly at people of color, and then ignore or strike back at anyone who attempts to differ with them on any point. (I'm still not sure if I should have made my reply at all.)
I hope if you've persevered this far in reading, you've gotten something out of this post. I have no grand conclusion, because the end isn't even in sight yet.
rydra_wong's links to the current uproar over racism and cultural appropriation with interest and a great deal of apprehension. I haven't read anywhere near all the posts she has linked to, and I've ignored most of the replies on a lot of these items. I've realized something about things I say and how they may be heard that, well, embarrasses me, but it's better to know than not to know. This may all be navel-gazing; take it for what it's worth, and if it helps someone else, great. If it only helps me, well, please don't laugh at me too much.
The final blow to my blithe disregard for how I sound was
stewardess's sarcastically-titled post How to use white privilege to make racism disappear. It reflected that some things I say are often used to dismiss racism as not a problem. I never mean to sound that way, but it's important to realize that that's how I may sound--especially because I say some of these things in class. It's not just Stewardess's post, though: I have in fact seen people doing what she describes, and I've seen other people rebut those sorts of arguments, and I've been horrified. I know that I don't mean these things as excuses for racism, and no one has said I do. I haven't been accused of anything, but I think I could be a lot clearer.1. When I say that our definition of color is relatively recent, or that race is a cultural construct, I mean that there's no excuse for racism.
However, what I say may sound like "racism isn't a serious problem" or "this too shall pass."
I also mean "definitions of race can become more inclusive": I remember that Irish and Italians used to be defined as 'non-white' --as a reminder that labels can change, and sometimes they get in our way. That's not to say that we should be color-blind or ignorant of people's heritage. It's fine to be proud of your Irish roots, or your Russian immigrant ancestors, or your African heritage. It's better still to do that and respect other people's pride in their East Asian connections or their American Indian ancestry or their Italian descent.
I hope that in the future we can build a society that will view race and ethnicity in only the positive ways, and I look to the past for hope: "white society" came to include Italians, Irish, and usually Eastern Europeans. I want a society that isn't "white society" anymore, but a "society" that includes everyone. Maybe it's utopian--but we can at least do better.
It won't just happen, though. It takes work-- and I've seen a lot of people seriously committed to that work.
2. When I say that my family has experienced discrimination, I mean that we'd all better watch out, because what goes around comes around. We can't just relax in our privilege, both because it's wrong to ignore that other people don't share it, and because it's just plain foolish not to realize we could lose it at any time (by becoming disabled, for instance).
What I say may sound like "My family got through it; why can't yours?"
I do feel that having family members who have experienced discrimination helps my own understanding. That's not complete understanding, but one of the ways I approach discrimination and racism. "If so-and-so still remembers so vividly that discrimination from decades ago, how much more must it hurt to go through it today?" There's also, "if family members went through this much just to get and keep jobs, how much more harrowing is it when people threaten your life?"
It would be nice to say that people should just hear what I mean or ask questions if they're not sure, but reading some of the recent exchanges, I've seen how if you're getting hit with discrimination right now, you don't have the energy to inquire into everyone's motives, or even to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. It's my job to get my meaning across clearly.
I'm a teacher. I talk about race as a social construction in class, and yes, I draw upon family examples. If students of any race hear not what I mean but what I sound like, then I've failed. I don't want either white students or students of color to hear "racism isn't a big deal" or "it happens to everyone," so I'd better be darned sure that if I mean, "If my family still feels the hurt of discrimination from decades ago, so I can only imagine what it feels to be suffer it now or to feel threatened," I'd better say "If my family still feels the hurt of discrimination from decades ago, so I can only imagine what it feels to be suffer it now or to feel threatened." If I mean, "there's no excuse for racism," I'd better say just that.
I do talk about these things in class, and sometimes I get funny looks. I saw them and thought, "Wow, people didn't know that Italians weren't considered white just a century ago" or "Wow, they don't realize how pervasive racism can be!" I think now students might have been thinking, "Wow, I can't believe she's falling back on that old excuse!" I've just assumed my intent was clear, but other people saying very similar things had very different intents. Students can't exactly ask, "Excuse me, but did you mean to just dismiss my experience?"
I'm still trying to figure my way through the mess. Today, I saw a post on the Old English etymology of a word, and the etymology was mistaken. So I posted, with all appropriate evidence, noting that I was just covering the etymology. Almost all the respondents have been quite civil, and I learned that while I was right about the OE, the word also has Old Norse and other Germanic cognates, and that in fact it's in current use among some people--and it's a graver insult in some circles than in extant OE sources. (You can read the whole exchange here, if you like.)
I made the post because it bothered me to see a mistake in my field. The original poster is right in her main point: the word is an insult, even if we debate how bad an insult. I hope I didn't distract from the main debate, or worse, excuse the insult. She accepted my rather pedantic reply very graciously--which I do think contrasts notably with the people who have been hurling aspersions, particularly at people of color, and then ignore or strike back at anyone who attempts to differ with them on any point. (I'm still not sure if I should have made my reply at all.)
I hope if you've persevered this far in reading, you've gotten something out of this post. I have no grand conclusion, because the end isn't even in sight yet.
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