Shiny Happy Fists of Rage

(this post)

and adding commentary like:

You have to admit, this very amazing of her. She isn’t as young as she Used to be and she still goes out there ad does…

or

Independent of any comparison. This is still a fucking awesome picture

or

This isn’t racial, its on party lines, FOX NEWS said that, so which side do they root for? just take a guess

or even

Omg it’s a baby….  I hate racism, because A it’s super wrong and DISGUSTING but secondly because EVERYTHING is subject to racist backlash, so many things that would otherwise be benign are tied into racism.   I’m sorry that racism exists.  I’m sorry that even though our society is supposedly advanced that we still don’t accept people as equals.  

Dudes, the comparison is the point of the post.

I find this absolutely fascinating.

I posted a picture detailing a concrete example of society’s anti-blackness, and people respond by telling me how cool the original picture is.

ASLKDFJSKDJFAL

It’s like if I posted a picture of a necklace design that Urban Outfitters stole from some Indie Etsy store. And people responded saying “REGARDLESS OF THE CONTEXT SURROUNDING THIS PICTURE I HAVE TO SAY THAT URBAN OUTFITTERS HAS GREAT TASTE IN JEWELRY”

Ugh.

Btw, I side-eye everyone who says “I’m sorry that racism exists” or “I’m sorry that other people are still racist” on principle. But they get an EXTRA HARD side-eye when they say it in response to someone pointing out racism.

Cause then you’re not sorry about racism (otherwise you’d be responding to the actual content of that person’s post), you’re just derailing because you’re uncomfortable with the topic.

“So I was at a party recently and I was having a conversation with a woman who was telling me about how she was traveling around Africa last year, and she even learned some African.

Yeah. She learned … African.

To which I replied, ‘Oh that’s so interesting! It’s funny, I’ve actually been trying to learn Asian this year.’

And then she replied, ‘Asian isn’t a language.’

…

The only thing worse than an idiot is an arrogant idiot.”

-Hari Kondabolu

Before about a year and a half ago, I was not aware of the trans* movement or trans* issues really at all. Being cis, my assigned gender matches my perceived gender, and I therefore had the privilege of not having to be aware of trans* bodies. 

I bring this up because acknowledging my cis privilege was the first time I had to acknowledge a privilege that I was not previously aware existed.  But still, it seemed relatively easy for me to acknowledge my cis privilege. The more I heard about trans* issues, it simply became more and more obvious it became that I, as cis,  was definitely in the position of privilege over trans*-identified folks. I was aware of the concept of privilege.  I could see how trans* people are marginalized today – from the systemic pathologizing of trans* bodies, to the alarmingly high incidences of rape of trans* people, to the exorbitant amounts of money trans* people must spend to obtain experiences that I, as a cis person, already have. I mean, clearly, there was privilege at work here. Clearly. 

But why? Why is it that I was so easily able to recognize my cis privilege, when white people very often have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, before they’ll acknowledge white privilege?

Well, it’s not because I’m inherently better and more progressive than people who deny their privileges. It’s not because I’m a perfect ally, because I definitely have said and do say problematic things. And I continue to be called out for cissexist thoughts, words, and actions. I constantly have to strive to do better. 

However, I do think it was somewhat easier for me to come to terms with cis privilege. I am a black woman. I am very aware of the ways in which I’m less privileged, and the ways in which white/male privilege adversely affects me.

For me, I think this is what made it easier for me to acknowledge my cis privilege. When faced with the facts, it seemed impossible, mind-bogglingly impossible to deny cis privilege. I think that being aware of my less privileged status also put me in a better position to see the marginalization of others.  I didn’t need to be convinced that marginalization existed, I just needed to acknowledge that other people were being marginalized differently.

This is also my personal explanation for why super privileged wealthy cis straight Christian white men have such a hard time acknowledging how all those adjectives make life easier for them. The biggest privilege is being able to ignore your privileges.

Which is why it feels like an extra slap in the face when someone underprivileged in some way is a denier of their own privilege. It’s why I get more frustrated  when I see marginalized groups perpetuating the oppression of other marginalized groups.


It’s why, as I have intuited before, I am so much more bothered by racism in feminism, or homophobia in trans* communities, or racism in gay communities, or transphobia in gay communities, or homophobia in feminism.

It seems like such a great way to ensure that the people with the most power and privilege stay on top – keep marginalized people squabbling amongst each other. Make them buy into a system that grants them small amounts of power while simultaneously reinforcing the ultimate power imbalances that oppress them.

Score: 1 for the kyriarchy.

Let me be clear: I’m not saying that I expect solidarity from all marginalized groups everywhere. However, I do expect recognition of privilege. I do expect that those who call out the privilege of others to acknowledge their own. I do expect people to not be hypocritical.

Earlier today, I was talking to one of my (white, cis, male, straight) friends, and we got to talking about abortion. He said he was generally pro-choice, but that it “became tricky” when the guy wants to keep the baby when the pregnant person wants to have an abortion.

I quietly threw a fit, regained my composure, and then started explaining that no matter how much a person wants a child, they have no right to force another person to remain pregnant,  people have a right to their own bodies, etc, etc.  He eventually recanted, and tried to explain where he was coming from. He said things like, “Yeah, well, I haven’t thought too hard about this,” and “I’m not really into politics at all.”

“I’m not really into politics at all.”

And while I’m sure he meant this to provide some sort of reasoning for his viewpoints, (many of which he admitted (after some back-and-forth) were problematic), I realized that I was actually becoming more frustrated.  Because he has the privilege to decide to not care about politics.

He doesn’t have to worry about many of the things that people like me worry about. No one’s trying to take away his right to govern his own reproduction, for example. The things that make it harder for people like me to exist in this country are very often directly tied to politics and government, and so it behooves me to be cognizant of these issues.  

I can’t afford to not care about the government putting limitations on abortion rights.
 
I can’t afford to not be enraged about police brutality.

I can’t afford to not care about the growing economic disparities between the rich and poor and disproportionately large economic burdens being placed on the poor and people of color.

I can’t afford to not be disgusted by the poor education in POC/poor areas of the country.

I have to care about politics, because these are not theoretical discussions for me.

 

poweroflight replied to your post: rhymeswithchelsea replied to your post: I…

I cannot and will not attribute success or blessings to the fact that I am white. God, yes. My hard work and toil? Absolutely. No one can take those things away. Just like I won’t attribute anyone else’s blessings to some ambiguous factor.

I really want to make sure you saw what Rhymeswithchelsea wrote, so here it is:

again this is a fact, not an opinion. racism is INSTITUTIONAL, not individual. it’s about opportunities being afforded to some and denied to others in order to perpetuate inequality and keep white men in power.

Your hard work and toil have certainly contributed to your successes, but what has *also* contributed is the fact that you are white. It has. As a whole, people of color are less successful and less blessed that you have been. This is not because they just don’t work as hard (and to imply this is actually super racist) - it’s because the odds are stacked against them. People of color who have made it to the same level of success as you have had to work harder, and they have had to overcome more difficulties. This is unfair, and something that we need to work to correct

I want to stress that this is not to demean your successes and your hard work, but to put them in perspective.