Things to keep in mind...

Some thoughts I had after hearing and reading discussions on race recently, particularly in regards to white/non-white perspectives in a white centric society...

1. Seriously, in a discussion about race (a topic which POC live and deal with daily in a White centric society), it would help most in the discussion if Whites were to put as much effort into understanding things from the POC viewpoint as they often end up using in rebutting and dismissing.

2. As I heard it said once, "Calling out an action of racism is not calling a person in question a racist as though it were some classification of the persons irredeemably evil nature." It's calling something out for what it is. Calling an action racist is more than just calling out an action, it's an affirmation of something that has effects for individuals and society. It's not a primary personal attack.

3. White people cannot consider themselves some final authority all the time on whether something is racist, especially when the action in name comes from a White person. I say this because simply questioning and holding something up to scrutiny isn't completely legit in the respect of racism. When one has been trained to see things from a White perspective, that is how that person is going to judge unless they step outside of their experience and into anothers. All people have experiences based off of their racial status that shape their views and perceptions, and Whites are no exception here. The road-block is that many Whites feel their view is "normal", a "generic" or "individual" view and not a "White" view. This is the effect of Whiteness. Anyway, It's not about seeing things differently from one another, it's about whether one side is making the effort to see things as another one might.

4. I am getting sick and tired of hearing White people dismiss minorities are "too sensitive" and "get over it" as though minorities are easily side-tracked from relevance in a discussion and look for insult and offense at every possible opportunity, that they find pleasure from experiencing it. Unlike the White observer in most cases, the racism in the topic tends to affect the POC more often than the White person, so it's important that the White participant have empathy and an understanding beyond their own White experiences. Their limits of perception of the White person(s) do not define the scope of analysis in the situation. The ease by which Whites disavow an experience which is not their own is one of the most troubling things I've noticed lately, and it tends to spring from this sort of monopolizing the scope of discussion to their own.

Just a few thoughts.

Race and Progressives

Usually, my anger with respect to race can more often than not be found directed towards those on the right wing. It's usually them on opposing ends of race discussions. However, more and more, due to my experiences and the sharing of experiences from fellow anti-racists like Godheval, I'm noticing that many on the left are suffering from some different but related symptoms. Progressive whites are often times suffering from "Racism Displacement Syndrome".

RDS, as we shall abbreviate from here on out, is a common tendency amongst White Progressives to work towards progress on matters of inequalities, but choosing to remain oblivious to issues of race in the matters and how Whites experiences with race are crucial to understanding inequalities as well. This is often times a different manifestation of the "color-blind" approach to race, acting as if it doesn't exist as a solution to the problem of the social construct and it's effects in inequalities and privileges.

This is my basic message to White Progressives: wake the fuck up. Seriously. We live in a time of changing paradigms, technology spread out and information available in more ways than ever before, yet White people are found to be just as uneducated as ever on matters of race. White Progressives may know some about race here and there through education in other fields like Political Science or History, but the study of Racism is a topic that is tied into the social reality of the United States that needs to be studied, understood, and acted on as well. White Progressives, for all of their reading, blogging, and internet activism, have no excuse whatsoever to remain ignorant on matters of race. One cannot study the history of capitalism without realizing much of it's success is due in part to the subjugation by whites of non-whites. One cannot ignore the factor of race in the discussion on environmental degredation, as it is the pillaging, overuse, and plowing down of non-White lands that allows White companies to sell much of their products. One can not study inequalities in the economy without studying how race, one of Americas oldest and biggest legacies, is tied to it in ways that would be ridiculous to ignore.

My advice? To the White Progressive who knows something substantial about race relations: start speaking up more. You can't denounce your privilege by just 'denouncing' it, but you can give up the privilege to keep silent on matters of race. To the White Progressive who spends so much time on matters of Gay Marriage, Capitalism and Corporatism, Foreign Policy, etc.: your excuses are inadequate. It is time to start reading, educating yourself, and being just as active on those matters as well.

Matters of race permeate and intertwine in nearly every modern issue that faces people in a capitalist system. Ignoring it or running away from it will not make that change, but it will cement the reality that the fight against racism is largely a fight left for minorities when, quite frankly, whites are just as responsible for anti-racist action.

Break.

I won't be blogging on very much for a while. School and some personal problems are taking their toll on my time to be creative. But sometimes it's better to deal with those head on. Maybe it will give me more fuel to create with later. In any case, see you on Facebook until then.

Jaime

Words

Some words that describe Americans (not citizens, mind you, but what we know as the "model American")...add ones that you find appropriate.

Narrow-minded
Obtuse
Entitled
Myopic
Oblivious
Imperceptive
Unaware
Heedless

Any other ideas?