to those who felt stung by the "stuff white people like" blog

[sophiaserpentia]

...I didn't mean you any harm, but i think the blog communicates a point about racism very effectively that probably can't be made in a gentle or abstract way.

Many of you have heard, i'm sure, of Jane Elliott's "Brown Eyes/Blue Eyes exercise," and other similar seminars and exercises, designed to give white people a taste of what racial discrimination and stereotyping is like. Many who have participated in these exercises describe feeling rage, sadness, and considerable upset lasting for years, even though they know it's only an exercise that lasts a few hours and that they can go back to their lives and everything will be the way it was before.

We white folk don't have any callouses when it comes to racial stereotyping, and so even a little bit of it stings very much.

But i'm certain a person of color would tell me that it doesn't sting them any less than it stings me... and worse, for them there's no "going back to your life" after the exercise in stereotyping is over.

I talk a lot about racism, sexism, classism, transphobia, and other kinds of discrimination, and it's easy to start to think of these in abstract ways, especially where i get into things like terminology and misappropriation and other kinda esoteric aspects. But at the heart of it, always, always, is the neverending sting. You can take the sting you felt with you whenever you read a discussion about racism, and perhaps it will all be more clear.

Comments

[the-alchemist.livejournal.com]

I found it very interesting, and it did give me a new perspective on the privilege I have as a white person.

At the same time, I think "trying to reduce your carbon footprint is a silly, pointless middle class excess" is a dangerous lie, and so I'm never very sympathetic towards anything that propagates it.

It amused me that many of the blog's sterotypes of 'white people' are the same as my sterotype of 'Americans' (the idea that India isn't in Asia, for example - European people find that weird). I guess this highlights both the author's prejudices (people are American by default) and mine (Americans are white by default).

[stacymckenna.livejournal.com]

huh, I always use "Asian Indian" to distinguish from "(N/S) American Indian". There I go being anachronistic again.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

Well, what i took from the articles about recycling and the Prius and so on, is that the author feels that there's a culture of people who recycle and drive Priuses (Prii?) and who feel that they are "doing their part" to counter the destruction of the environment, even while continuing to buy fully into the consumption model which is a real threat to the ecological balance that sustains us. IOW, you can't join the revolution by buying a product, you have to actually change what you're doing.

[sophiaserpentia.livejournal.com]

That said, harm reduction is better than nothing, if only marginally so. If many people do a little bit of harm reduction, these little bits can add up to significant harm reduction. But, ultimately, some actual sacrifice will be needed.