The author of “What Does It Mean to Be White?” examines the ways white people implode when they talk about race
“While individual whites may be against racism, they still benefit from the distribution of resources controlled by their group. Yes, an individual person of color can sit at the tables of power, but the overwhelming majority of decision-makers will be white. Yes, white people can have problems and face barriers, but systematic racism won’t be one of them. This distinction—between individual prejudice and a system of unequal institutionalized racial power—is fundamental. One cannot understand how racism functions in the U.S. today if one ignores group power relations.”
A great read from a white ally. Honest, humble, and accurate. Listen up, fellow white people. This is the kind of stuff we need to digest.
White folks don’t wanna hear the truth
Okay, this is a good deconstruction of the way racism is embedded in society, and I’m just going to add my two cents on some things that it doesn’t cover. Namely, how to talk about racism as white people to white kids (or white people in general).
Now, my perspective on this is a little bit different from the average U.S. citizen, because I grew up in South Africa (yes I’m white), and I grew up with Apartheid (segregation). In fact, Apartheid only got squashed in the 1990s. So I have a lot less of a comfortable cushion of time when it comes to race relations between whites and non-whites.Not that the 1960′s were that much earlier than the 1990′s, but boy do a lot of white Americans want to make it seem that way.
On how to talk about race. People invest a lot of mental effort in wanting to be the ‘good guys’ – the protagonists of the movie, so to speak. And this starts early, because a lot of kids ask uncomfortable questions, and so to absolve themselves of guilt, or without ever acknowledging it, white parents, when faced with ‘was great-grandma/grandpa a bad person (for owning slaves)’ (or some famous person like, say, Thomas Jefferson), the immediate knee-jerk urge is to say ‘no of course not.’ And the white kid takes that answer and internalizes it. But what does that mean for slavery? Well, then obviously slavery was ‘not that bad’, or even ‘good for black people, because white slave owners took care of them.’ Or other similar bullshit. (Hint: legally owning a human being is, by definition, not being good to them.)
So if you ever get put on the spot like that, an alternative to floundering around and denying it is to say something like ‘they probably didn’t think of themselves as a bad person, but they did bad things because nobody ever taught them better, and a lot of the people around them were doing it too. But we’ve learned better now, and yes, they were wrong for owning people. Everyone deserves to be treated fairly, and everyone has the right to be free.’
And look, acknowledging that society has slipped its devious hooks into you and that you hold racist thought-patterns and benefit from the system at the expense of black people or other PoC is no fun at all. I get that, believe me I do. It’s no fun to realize that something as simple as an old cartoon you really like is racist or uses racist language, or that there are patterns in the movies and other media we still consume today that reinforce those racist thought patterns, or blame PoC for the disadvantage that white society has enforced on them. But if you want to treat other humans with respect and consideration, maybe take a few minutes to dismantle or at least acknowledge those biases when they’re made obvious to you.
mmmmm so I’ve been giving more thought to “redemption” and why its portrayal in media often wigs me out despite liking the concept
and I think there’s this idea of reversibility wrapped up in it? In which the redeemed individual is just magically transformed back into the person they “used to be” before they “fell” or “went dark” or generally started doing bad things. It seems to completely ignore that said characters’ experiences during the time in which they were evil ARE in fact important to who they are now as a person (and in fact, that they might not have been able to be redeemed had they not gone through those things). It divorces them from their potential to do harm which imo is pretty dehumanizing in and of itself because it requires the “good” version of that character to be put on a pedestal and punished for deviating from the established moral norm for them. It does not allow for any healing from trauma or prevention of potential subsequent moral lapses, because it presents morality as an on-off switch, rather than something that comes about as a result of interior experiences and exterior treatment.
Rogue One foregrounds Asian visibility in a) a story about how there are no half measures when it comes to standing up against oppression and b) a franchise which has previously failed to provide any sort of remuneration for its appropriation from Asian cultures. Although the movie is a very recent addition to the Star Wars canon, its position in the franchise’s narrative timeline means we have always been part of that galaxy far, far away. At a time when we cannot afford to ignore issues of race and the civil liberties of the marginalised, this matters a great deal.
This. THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS THIS. THIS ARTICLE IS EVERYTHING TO ME RIGHT NOW.
Someday (maybe this year? idk) I will actively put a bunch of words down on paper about why I care so damn much about representation in popular culture. There are millions of words already out there, but…I can add a few more.
We live in an age where we feel guilt whenever we have to cut someone off but the reality is that some relationships do need to die, some people do need to be unfollowed and defriended. We aren’t meant to be this tethered to the people in our past. The Internet mandates that we don’t burn bridges and keep everyone around like relics but those expectations are unrealistic and unhealthy. Simply put, we don’t need to know what everyone else is up to. We’re allowed to be choosy about who we surround ourselves with online and in real life, even if it might hurt people’s feelings.
Every time I hate my body I remember that there are millions of old rich white men who benefit from my self hatred and if there’s one thing I hate, it’s old rich white men so I snap out of that shit instantly cos I ain’t EVER giving them the satisfaction.
Oh my fucKING GOD
Wait stop this is a game changer.
i have reblogged this 4 times; i have thought about this every fucking day
Reminder!
“If every woman in the world woke up tomorrow and decided that she loved herself and loved her body just the way it is, how many industries would go out of business?”
I’ve seen several posts circulating today about racism in multiple fandoms. The arguments and counterpoints I’ve seen are not unexpected. For background: I am writing instructor and I devote a significant portion of my classes to discussions of media representation. Why? Because I realized I was doing everything that these posts talk about: Ignoring characters of color, sidelining them for white villains or sidekicks with far less screen time, ignoring women of color entirely, etc. And all the while, like so many of you, I said, “I’m not racist.” I had in-universe explanations for why I liked this ‘ship over that one, this character more than that. I could defend and explain everything.
Racism is not who you are. It is what you do. And here’s a fact: All white people do racist things. We’ve been trained to, taught to. It’s in our culture, all around us. If you’re white, our culture has allowed most racism to be entirely invisible to us. Racism isn’t just yelled slurs and burning crosses. Often, racism is simply *not caring* about people who aren’t white. Racism is an inability to empathize with or care about the story of someone who is not white.
IF YOU’RE FEELING DEFENSIVE, PLEASE KEEP READING. I beg you. That’s exactly the feeling we have to push through. I’m going to give you a brief list of actions we can take. And I know these are important because I have to do them, all the time. Because the poison is in me, too.
If you truly believe in equality and want to be a better person, then here’s what we, as white fans, have to do:
1. BE BRAVE ENOUGH TO BE UNCOMFORTABLE. It absolutely sucks to realize you may have hurt someone, or that you might be wrong. Realizing you’ve done something racist is a stomach-churning reality check. Have the courage to face it. Don’t run from it.
2. INSTEAD OF LOOKING FOR WAYS YOU’RE NOT RACIST, LOOK FOR WAYS THAT YOU *ARE*. It’s comforting and tempting to itemize the ways in which we’re open-minded. See #1 again. Don’t let yourself be comfortable. Instead, look for what you do and ways you contribute to fandom racism. Maybe it’s reblogging or creating gif sets that leave out main characters of color. Maybe it’s forgetting to include them in your fanfiction, even when they would rightfully be there. Maybe it’s reducing them to stereotypes or caretakers for white characters. Maybe it’s ‘shipping the white leads with anyone but the POC around them. Maybe it’s accusing POC fans of “starting drama” when they discuss racism. Look at your actions and be honest with yourself.
3. PUT IN THE EFFORT TO FALL IN LOVE WITH POC CHARACTERS. Here’s the thing: It’s easy for us to fall in love with white male heroes and villains. It’s what we’ve been training for all our lives, with every movie, television show, and book we’ve ever enjoyed. Media *encourages* us to love white men. So yes, falling in love with a character of color will be harder, and it probably won’t “just happen.” So, truly look at Finn and Poe, at Cassian Andor and Bodhi. Truly look at Luke Garroway and Magnus Bane, at Luke Cage, at Iris West and James Olsen, at Michonne. Seek out ways to connect with their feelings and their stories. Look at them as full-hearted, three-dimensional human beings. Force yourself to become obsessed with them. If you do this, I would be absolutely shocked if you don’t fall in love with one of them.
4. LISTEN TO POC FANS. Yes, even if they’re angry and call you names. For my research, I spend a lot of time on blogs that talk about hating white people, hating white fans, hating white feminists. The language is furious and vitriolic. So what? They have every right to be angry. Instead of judging their anger, LISTEN to it. Try to be better. Don’t say “not all white fans,” or “not all white people.” Instead, try to be a better white person. Be a better white fan. Be a white fan who is brave enough to look at themselves and truly be an ally. Do not silence POC fans. I promise you: Listen, and you’ll realize they’re not overreacting.
5. REMEMBER THAT “ALLY” IS A VERB. Our thoughts count for nothing. It’s our actions that speak for us. Maybe you’ve read all this and you still want to insist that you’re not racist. Okay. But your actions might be. Challenge the stereotypes that exist in your head, learn to identify them as stereotypes and be willing to hold yourself and other white fans accountable.
6. REPEAT STEPS 1-5 FOREVER. We cannot cure our internalized white supremacy in a weekend. This is a forever gig. But it’s one of the most worthwhile tasks you can ever give yourself. Want to feel like you’re changing the world? Here’s where it starts.
Inevitably there’s more to add to this list. I’m always learning, but I thought it might be useful to share a few of these steps I’ve learned along the way. I love fandom. I believe profoundly in the transformative power of fanfiction, fan creations, and the friendships forged through our shared love of media.
I believe we can become BETTER PEOPLE through fandom. But it will not happen without our willingness to be transformed.
I would like to add that it’s not enough to reblog posts that make you seem like a good ally… Read that point about being uncomfortable over and over again because it seems like a lot of you forget this. It seems like the problem is allies thinking it’s enough to discuss racism when it’s comfortable, but the second the discussion forces people to look in the mirror then the conversation takes an ugly turn.
I see this a lot… Allies thinking they’re doing a good job when all they’re doing is calling out people for behaviours that don’t force them to confront realities about themselves. It’s always an external discussion. And that’s not enough. You need to take time for yourself and try really hard to work on unlearning harmful behaviours. In fandom this is hard to do. Especially when the conversation is making you confront things about media/characters/ships that you love. It’s important to acknowledge things when we’re pointing them out. It’s not good enough to reblog posts about race in fandom when you’re still refusing to do some introspection.
There's a Mirror on the Wall 