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Originally Posted by ThurgreedMarshall
Here's the thing on this topic...and I'll say it knowing full well you're not going to hear it (whether it's intentional or not, I'll let you decide):
Bill Maher is guilty of this and, since you're 1:1 with him on this, so are you. - The idea that people who suffer from relatively less important unequal and unfair treatment--relative to life-threatening issues like police brutality and the existence of police black sites, etc.--should stop their belly-achin' is fucking ridiculous. It's the same as when I hear people tell me that successful blacks should stop complaining because they have it good when compared to those who are truly suffering. And I hear this shit constantly (e.g., "I'm sick of these black millionaire actors complaining about the lack of roles/nominations/equal treatment in pay. Black people are dying in the streets!" or "Hey, Thurgreed, you have it good. You're a partner at an international law firm. No one wants to hear about your lack of access to clients/leadership positions at the firm/equal treatment in pay! Most black people don't make anywhere near what you do!").
This type of shit is infuriating. And minorities have been hearing it for centuries at every level of "achievement." House slaves should stop complaining, they have it good, compared to field slaves. Free blacks should stop complaining because at least they're not slaves. Blacks should stop complaining about separate facilities since it wasn't that long ago they weren't allowed anywhere. Blacks should stop complaining about poor job/education/living conditions, things are getting better. On and on and on.
Why should anyone at any level settle for less than they deserve because there are bigger problems in the world? It's the most illogical, bullshit, misdirection to keep things the way they are for as long as possible by those who benefit-tactic going. And I see it a lot. Don't be that jackass.
- You have bought in completely to the narrative pushed by small-minded assholes who can't be bothered to treat people with respect and therefore actively lump in the ridiculous instances of the "PC police gone wild" with all other legitimate instances of discrimination so that they can shoo it all away.
The prominence of stories of people who are so far past the extreme on the PC spectrum is fun to read about, but holy shit. Comedians not being able to make borderline jokes on campus is stupid and wrong, but the fact that I read about that and stories of PC police shutting down some professor who just wants kids to be allowed to make offensive Halloween costume mistakes <sniff.> all the damn time and then have to listen to someone talk about that stuff like the inconvenience of either of those things amounts to an out-of-control PC world is fucking ridiculous.
- The ridicule of microaggressions is something only people who generally don't give a shit about how people expect to be treated engage in. I went to a small liberal arts school in the Midwest. I was one of maybe 50 black people on a campus of 2,000. And let me tell you something, microaggressions (although we didn't have a word for it back then) is fucking real and it's tiring. Trust me. To this day, where I am one of two black people at a ~200 person firm, having to navigate an environment designed by and for white people is exhausting. The microaggressions I experience are real and they wear on you. Just because I don't complain to you about them doesn't mean they don't exist. So when you hear about them, why not listen and think about what you might do to recognize when you're participating rather than bitch about something else that's too PC.
Anyone who shuts off because they've heard the buzzword too often and thinks it's boring or annoying having to listen to people complain about it needs some perspective. And quite often, it's these assholes who can't fucking deal and throw the biggest fits if they believe they've been overlooked or slighted somehow. It's just amazing.
TM |
Here's my thoughts, for whatever they are worth, which ain't much, I know.
I understand and see everything you are saying. What I don't understand is how I am supposed to react to this white privilege on an every day level. I am conscious of, and make react to people and make choices in such a way as to recognize the inherent racism in my actions in commerce and social interactions.
But what about how people react to me? Am I supposed to turn down an engagement because in a more just world more opportunities would be offered to black females? The particular engagement I am being offered will not be used to try and achieve more balance if I decline it. It will go to another white male, because those are the people my client knows. If I am in the grocery store and a black man defers to me in line at the cashier (which happens in Georgia and it disgusts me) what can I do other than telling the person to go ahead in front of me, which he won't. He'll insist on my going first because he is elderly, it is Savannah, and it's what he knows.
Knowing I enjoy a certain privilege does not necessarily equate to me always being able to neutralize it. I can be sympathetic to your situation, but I cannot change it and I don't understand why or how I should put myself at a disadvantage when that action will not do anything to help equalize the imbalance, other than possibly having me put myself at a disadvantage just to offset the cosmic imbalance.
I can use the black handyman instead of some white guy who gets more work. Am I supposed to break more shit in order to make sure the black guy gets additional work?
I'm not being sarcastic, and I am not making light of what I agree is the existing climate. But I can't really do a lot to make the world less racist or sexist. All I can do is try to be less racist or sexist myself, and I feel at times some people want to me to feel that is not enough.
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