Thursday, September 29, 2011

Don’t Accuse Anyone of Racism, Homophobia, Etc. Unless Ready to be Accused of the Same



cross-posted from my Tumblr
Inspired by this post on Feministing critiquing Gene Lyon's very problematic (and racially-tinged) piece on Salon that lambasts Professor Melissa Harris-Perry's article in The Nation lambasts Professor Melissa Harris-Perry [i.e. attacking the person and not the idea]. In the article she argues that white liberals hold Black politicians to a higher standard than white politicians.


We all have internalized racism (among other -isms, and -phobias). Lets not expect thateven the most socially conscious will readily understand or recognize every single way in which this will manifest for them. Lets not also expect that others who aren't as socially conscious [checking my own elitist framing] will be readily able to. do the same. But we all have the potential to eventually understand. We're all human, we understand compassion and we can empathize with what it is to hurt, feel inferior or experience humiliation. Lets all try to respect each other, and not accuse each other of being racist, homophobic or misogynistic unless you're ready to be accused of the same. This is counter-productive.
Realize that we don't live in a vacuum, but rather, we live and breathe in a multidimensional oppressive power structure. Patience and communicating in simple ways that anyone can understand to see our point, that's an effort worth making. At the same time it's worth remembering that because of the same oppressive power structure, many will very justifiably feel anger and feel themselves incapable or unwilling to do this. But remember: progress won't be made until we have mutual comprehension and acceptance as a starting point. Think of it in terms of backwards planning: envision what you want the world to be, and make small steps towards it.