 |
|
The Topic of the Day is: Sunday, September 23, 2007 | |
| w | w |
Let's talk about race. The literature that I've read, which I have to admit is sparse, tells me a minimum of two things to talk about race: recognition of my own white privilege, and a willingness to take an active role in the discussion. I can understand the first. It's hard to act on, but I am aware of my own privilege, the knowledge that others approach me differently because I am white. I know the media portrays me differently, people who don't know me have different, more favorable initial impressions, and are more likely to help me or believe me. I can understand white privilege because I'm a feminist and I've recognized male privilege, so it's easy enough to see that such a phenomena happens to anyone in the oppressive position. I don't know what to do about it though, which brings up my struggle with number two on the List of Things to Do to Help Oneself Not be a Racist Race is hard. It's hard to talk about. It's hard for me because I am afraid. I don't have any right to be afraid, but I am. I am afraid that by talking about it, or by not talking about it, I'm going to hurt somebody. I'm afraid that by being white and not doing something, or doing something, I'm going to hurt somebody. I want to smile at a colored person on the bus to show them in a gesture that I'm aware of who I am and who they are and that it all doesn't matter in the long run, that we're all just human beings in the end, but I'm afraid that by doing so I'll be so outside of our "strangers don't quite exist" society that I'll look like I'm trying too hard to be Politically Correct or something and piss someone off. is that a ridiculous fear? it makes me feel powerless. If any action that I take is *because* someone has a different skin color, is that action I take itself a racist action? Hmmm... perhaps I can once again use my own situation, as a woman surrounded by men, to understand (though not exactly) the situation of a colored person surrounded by white people... if a guy smiled at me and made room for me on the bus because I was a woman, how would I feel? er... probably pretty happy because a guy had smiled at me. Okay, that's not a successful analogy. How about in the science setting? If I was given, for example, a scholarship in science, and it was made clear that this was done because I was a woman? well I'd probably be pretty pleased at the thought of promoting women in science... to me it seems like that'd be an opportunity in which it was said, "you're equal to all the other candidates, but we recognize that you've been handed the short end of the stick/have an unfair disadvantage because you're a woman in science, so we hope this'll help even things out a bit." ..... damn. not a good parallel either. I suppose it all depends on attitude. For science, if I'm treated as a woman before I am treated as a scientist, that'd piss me off. For life, if I'm treated as a woman before I am treated as a human being, that'd also piss me off. So.... to treat someone as black first and human later, that'd probably piss em off. With due reason. Of course maybe I'm an atypical example. Maybe most people don't think the way I do. I can't deny that my world experience is going to be shaped by my womanness. Nor would I want to: I like being a woman. The only things that irritate me about being a woman are the automatic labels that come with it. I think it might be a reasonable assumption that colored people would be pretty irritated with automatic labels as well. but by smiling on a bus specifically at black people, am I creating a label: "black person" and then treating a person that way because of that label? I guess that depends on whether or not I smile at other random people on the bus. Which depends on the day. .... .... .... I'm still confused. I guess the conclusion I seem to have come to is two points. The first is "treat everyone like a human being and leave well enough alone." (the second half of that pertaining to the American ideal of bubblism--the egocentric self-focused world-view, which must be taken into account (that is, that people don't smile at anyone on buses, so there's not much point in smiling at black people in particular). simultaneously, however, a side of me cries out against this, says "that's assuming there's an equal playing field to begin with," which because of white privilege, just like because of male privilege, there isn't. Anyone with thoughts or advice out there? |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
My Other Writing Sites | |
|
 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Webcomics | |
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Stories I'm currently working on. | |
|
|
***Tbook1 (Time and Chaos, needs a new name, needs to be edited) ***Book of Sun (Just needs to be edited. Tis a Nano novel) ***Book of Whispers part 1 (Does not jive at all with part 2; needs to be rewritten to fit and to have less suckage) ***Book of Whispers part 2 (Needs some rehaul editing, needs some loose ends tied up, needs to fit) ***Book of Whispers part 3 (Needs to be finished... then needs to die o.o Not sure if I need a third part in the series) ***Dium's Story (Needs a point, progress, anything... needs to be integrated into Tbook1, since that is what it is a part of, mainly) ***Trio Story with Jackie and Louise (Maybe we should get together and work on this, guys) ***Demon Story (This is working out pretty good so far. I like the plot, it's a bit convoluted, and the characters are interesting) ***New Witch Story (It's only 30 pages long, dang) ***Dragon's Voices (This has SO much potential! wee!) | |
|
|
|
|
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home