White people really do think that racism is just interpersonal dislike of other cultures and not some giant labyrinth of exploitation and colonialism. Every time it comes up shit just blows my mind.
They believe racism is how polite you are to ppl of different races, and most white ppl are generally polite, but they don’t seem to understand how racism is tied together in society and government and politics
The other factor is if a non-white person is rude to them, they start believing “reverse racism” is the bigger problem, and thus begin to actively oppose systemic fixes
By now, after these past few years, if a white person doesn’t have some idea how racism is ingrained in society, etc, then they must be living under a rock or are willfully ignorant.
I suspect we can all agree that the concept of "reverse racism" makes no sense.
I suspect we will not all agree on what I will say next, but I hope folks will hear me out.
Racism is prejudice with its own history rooted in greed.
When we call out racism and white people as unique problems, we make two mistakes:
We buy into the faulty concept of race. The concept of race was invented to benefit people of European origins. Every time we use the term as if the concept of race has merit, we lend credibility to the term and extend the opportunity for people to consider the idea that the concept of race has scientific merit.
We let humanity off the hook for the problem of prejudice. I'm not an expert in any of this, but I do have relevant educational background and life experiences that shape and strengthen my thinking. Prejudice power-charged by greed is alive and well on every continent. Prejudice power-charged by greed is a problem human beings need to solve on every continent.
Human civilizations have been evolving throughout human history. We slowly, slowly train ourselves and future generations to deal effectively with our worst impulses. We need to spotlight greed-powered prejudice for change.
Separating out white racism and white people as a unique problem creates obstacles to civilizing us all. It allows the bogus part of the conversation to fester and draw resources.
I promise I'm not trying to let white people off the hook or deny the horrors of white racism. I am saying that a more holistic approach is needed to evolve.
@jennyzilliac White people have to admit they've done/do something wrong, have to be accountable and atone before we move out of this space. Yep, I said white people. White people can't make up race, fuck people over all over the world and then want the definition to disappear. First, do work. @Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
I respectfully hear where you are coming from. I stand by my opinion.
White people will never successfully atone for white racism. Waiting for that to happen delays progress toward coming to terms with our shared humanity.
I get that this is a very unpopular opinion. I have done a lot of work around my own racism. I'll never be finished with that process.
As I continue my work, I will continue having conversations and communicating my true thoughts. My thinking is this:
We need to come together as human beings, recognizing the short comings of human nature and solving problems related to greed and prejudice.
@jennyzilliac You seem to want to skip the getting there part. And, that dismissiveness is offensive. It implies a complete non understanding of an orchestrated campaign of terror, murder and oppression for centuries. @Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
@jennyzilliac You're right. Honest conversations need to take place. In honest conversations amongst equals, no one gets to dictate modes/means of expression. You comfort is not material to me. You understanding what I'm saying and how I feel are. @Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
I am not trying to dictate anything. I am wholly interested in your thoughts. I want to have this honest conversation.
I'm not trying to educate you. I am trying to share my thoughts with you and wanting you to challenge me as you see fit based on your understandings. I'm not invested in being right. I'm invested in developing a better understanding of humanity and the path to a more humane civilization.
@jennyzilliac "Separating out white racism and white people as a unique problem creates obstacles to civilizing us all. It allows the bogus part of the conversation to fester and draw resources." This part of your post doesn't particularly lead me to believe that. This part of what you wrote is what we've been talking about during this conversation. Let's analyze it. Please expound upon this thought for me. @Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
We agree that we need to rectify (not that we can ever make up for) the terrible, inequitable fallout from the practice of slavery and Jim Crow laws and systemic white racism in general.
How do we do that? There are no easy answers, but we need to push forward with the best ideas of the day, understanding that we will make blunders and have to adjust and then we will make more blunders and have to adjust again. And again. And again.
One sad realization that the Trump era has set on my shoulders is that at least a third of the human population is wired for fascism and all the horrors that go along with fascism. It doesn't matter how low we set the bar. We will never get everyone behind the values of democracy and shared humanity. It's just never going to happen.
So we need to take the reigns and go, setting our course for the most humane civilization we can create. Leave those folks to their fascist ways. They are not coming with us except as baggage.
@jennyzilliac So, how are you going to get other white people on board for their own salvation? That's a job that belongs to white people. There's nothing we, Black people, can do to make white people stop oppressing us. What's the plan to save yourselves?@Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
My plan is to move forward in democracy with like-minded people, gathering heft and speed like a snowball. Together, we will craft a more just, humane society.
It’s true that prejudice exists in all societies in some form, but as Americans our main concern is America
The cause of American white supremacy (where the USA was an explicitly whites supremacist apartheid nation until 1972) is a specific thing, where as prejudice in humanity is nebulous and different in each area
We don’t have to solve the latter before solving the former— they’re not even related things I don’t think
I agree that white racism has some unique characteristics, and that is certainly unique as a historic event.
I agree that we need to tackle white racism in the US as our main focus because this is the problem we are living. (Speaking to those of us living in the US while recognizing people living in other countries may be reading and commenting.)
I hear where you are coming from. I really do. I'm very familiar with the concepts that you bring to the discussion.
My opinion is that, while this stage of thinking may have been a critical stop on our path toward an embracing of our shared humanity, the leading edge of thought needs to continue the journey.
Do white people, as a whole, still have a whole lot of learning to do? Yes. But we can't wait forever for folks to get on the train that's moving forward.
@jennyzilliac I meant Black people have never waited. We've always kept it moving and fought for our rights. We might not have been completely successful yet, but we don't give up. The" struggle continues." We "keep our eyes on the prize." Hell, we wake up every fucking day and keep trying. Every fucking day. Trust me, it's a struggle.@Techronic9876@DoiDoi@PaX
In any movement, there are conflicting ideas about how best to move forward. There are different paths forward.
From my perspective, I'm talking about strategy. What's the best strategy? What are the best tactics to move toward a just, humane society?
Where should we focus our efforts?
How can we best frame our messaging?
Can the study of psychology help guide us?
What type of messaging will help us move forward most readily toward our highest goals?
My thinking is that holding out the expectation that white people — all white people — must atone for white racism before we can change our language choices and messaging and strategy is slowing us down.
My thinking is that a more holistic approach toward prejudice will move us forward faster.
Holding white people accountable for white racism has been an important stage in the movement. I'm not saying we abandon it. I'm saying we start looking further ahead.
like they made the doctor a woman: cool and good, there is no reason the doctor has to be a man and it’s well beyond time that they regenerated into someone non-dude
they got a good actress to play her! Jodie Whittaker is pretty good from what i’ve seen of her
then they made her an arch neoliberal totally-not-amazon stan??? who murders a labour activist??? and his not-involved partner??? for like no reason???
I mean, the amazon episode was pretty dumb, but the rest of Chibnall’s episodes were pretty good imo. “Partition of India” and “It takes you away” were pretty memorable episodes among many other good ones and I also really liked “Flux” and the idea of the timeless child finally brought something new to the table. Chibnall managed to overcome Moffat’s unnecessary labyrinths of plots as well as his misogyny while not abandoning big ideas in general.
I would’ve liked to have him continue running the show, especially after the last special by Davies, which I didn’t find that convincing.
didn’t she like explicitly out a black character as black to the nazis for “lol, pwned” points? (for context for outsiders, this series has space magic at random as it suits the plot)
and also murder various sentient species for no reason?
Young people often lack the emotional maturity, experience, and appreciation for nuance and complexity that allows more mature people to see the value in choosing the lesser of evils. Young people are attracted to the idea of acting on principles. It makes them feel good.
FUCK these people and FUCK all these shitty brainwashed Dems. Soulless freaks the lot of em
Young people often lack the emotional maturity, experience, and appreciation for nuance and complexity that allows more mature people to see the value in choosing the lesser of evils. Young people are attracted to the idea of acting on principles. It makes them feel good
trollface This is true, it’s why young westerners are pro Ukrainetrollface
spoilerObviously I’m not being serious, just flipping their logic back on themselves
Nuance! Complexity! The reasons why Joe has been baying for Palestinian blood for decades are nuanced. The reasons why we have to support the extermination of an entire people and there are no alternatives are complicated! You just need to be mature enough to see that exterminating 2 million people and bulldozing their graves is the lesser evil!
liberals fucking love to infantilize people and it seems to not interest them that makes you pretty fucking hated, especially if your grievances are entirely valid!
That comment embodies the essence of modern liberalism:
condescendingly gesturing at “nuance” and “complexity” to hand-wave any criticism (“you just don’t get it!”)
infantilizing the critic by suggesting that having empty principles that you don’t act on is a sign of maturity rather than weakness and moral inferiority
pretending that their betters are actually just doing things to feel good about themselves, which is also an example of projection since liberals goddamn love performative useless bullshit that makes them feel like they’ve done something
@WoahWoah points this out from the article, which I missed.
“Editor’s note: In 2020, researchers from universities in the Netherlands and the United States replicated Oxley’s and his team’s study and concluded that: “Our analyses do not support the conclusions of the original study, nor do we find evidence for broader claims regarding the effect of disgust and the existence of a physiological trait.”
Someone in my neighborhood flies an Israeli flag at their window but then for a month they put it back inside probably due to backlash (maybe). But when Israel invaded Rafah they put it back up for a day, very deranged
I wish this author would uno reverse it at the end and add a note to remind readers our own government ‘October 7ths’ many countries all the time and that readers should hug their kids every day in anticipation of an Israel level or near enough response, but obviously this is nowhere near the intent.
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