Here's a shortish entry to counter-balance the lengthy one that I posted earlier today.
This 18th installment of the Common Censored podcast, featuring DC-based comrades Eleanor (Act Out!) Goldfield and Lee (Redacted Tonight) Camp, is worth listening to in its entirety. If you can't consume the whole thing, please listen to the part that starts about 37 minutes in.
Goldfield starts with the concern-troll habit of trying to force a post-racial world into existence by saying, "Race is just a construct! So stop talking about it!" They both go on to explore issues of identity politics from multiple angles, including Camp's observation (about 41 minutes in) that it is sometimes abused in leftist organizations to the point of keeping these organizations from getting anything done. (I'm thinking of a particular group that shall remain unnamed in this post.)
I agree completely that white folks in progressive and radical groups need to be more sensitive to our society's systemic white supremacy and their own assumptions, or white and male is the default and not an identity. (I do not exempt myself from this responsbility.) I also agree that these groups have a duty to encourage people from historically oppressed demographic groups to speak their truth, raise their issues, and propose solutions.
But I also agree with Goldfield's prescription: that perceived racial and gender slights can be addressed outside the meeting. Certainly, call people out for misusing their privilege, but do so when and where you can more effectively make them see their error, rather than derailing the meeting. Strive to make your comrades, your organization, and future meetings better, rather than giving up on them based on one or two faux pas.
It is not your responsibility as a person of color to educate white folks on their insensitivity; however, the potential upside in making them even a bit more woke is huge. If they resist these educational overtures, they're not very woke to begin with, and then you can give up on them. Tell them to go find another group that's more their speed.
This 18th installment of the Common Censored podcast, featuring DC-based comrades Eleanor (Act Out!) Goldfield and Lee (Redacted Tonight) Camp, is worth listening to in its entirety. If you can't consume the whole thing, please listen to the part that starts about 37 minutes in.
Goldfield starts with the concern-troll habit of trying to force a post-racial world into existence by saying, "Race is just a construct! So stop talking about it!" They both go on to explore issues of identity politics from multiple angles, including Camp's observation (about 41 minutes in) that it is sometimes abused in leftist organizations to the point of keeping these organizations from getting anything done. (I'm thinking of a particular group that shall remain unnamed in this post.)
I agree completely that white folks in progressive and radical groups need to be more sensitive to our society's systemic white supremacy and their own assumptions, or white and male is the default and not an identity. (I do not exempt myself from this responsbility.) I also agree that these groups have a duty to encourage people from historically oppressed demographic groups to speak their truth, raise their issues, and propose solutions.
But I also agree with Goldfield's prescription: that perceived racial and gender slights can be addressed outside the meeting. Certainly, call people out for misusing their privilege, but do so when and where you can more effectively make them see their error, rather than derailing the meeting. Strive to make your comrades, your organization, and future meetings better, rather than giving up on them based on one or two faux pas.
It is not your responsibility as a person of color to educate white folks on their insensitivity; however, the potential upside in making them even a bit more woke is huge. If they resist these educational overtures, they're not very woke to begin with, and then you can give up on them. Tell them to go find another group that's more their speed.
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