Posts tagged activism
Posts tagged activism
Nobody in history has ever gotten their freedom by appealing to the moral sense of the people who were oppressing them.
Assata Shakur (via thegoddamazon)
ALWAYS REBLOG.
(via ndnsurgency)
*not even Martin Luther King Jr.* if you really think the progress of the Civil Rights Movement was achieved solely by the moral strength of their argument, you were miseducated. you really were.
(via so-treu)
(via theoceanandthesky)
Not being racist is not some default starting position. You don’t simply get to say you’re not a racist; not being racist — or a sexist or a homophobe — is a constant, arduous process of unlearning, of being uncomfortable, of eating crow and being humbled and re-evaluating. It’s probably hard to start that process if you’ve been told that every thought you have is golden and should be given voice, and that people who are offended by what you say are hypersensitive simpletons.
Free speech is the straw man of choice for intellectual bums of all stripes too fragile and vacuous for critical engagement. Calling someone who says or does bigoted things “a bigot” isn’t censorious, it’s descriptively accurate, like calling a bad movie “a bad movie”, even if the bigot didn’t intend to come off as bigoted and the movie didn’t intend to come off as bad.
I use labels because we haven’t gotten beyond race or class or other differences yet. When I don’t assert certain aspects of my identity like the spiritual part or my queerness, they get overlooked and I’m diminished. When we come to a time when I don’t have to say, ‘Look, I’m a dyke,’ or ‘I’m spiritual,’ or ‘I’m intellectual,’ I’ll stop using labels. That’s what I want to work towards. But until we come to that time, if you lay your body down and don’t declare certain facets of yourself, they get stepped on.
(Source: , via theoceanandthesky)
For women, getting angry is socially unacceptable, even when the anger is over violence, discrimination, misogyny, and other forms of oppression. Anger is unacceptable because angry women are women in touch with their passion and power, especially in relation to men, which threatens the entire patriarchal order. It’s unacceptable because it forces men to confront the reality of male privilege and women’s oppression and their involvement in it, even if only as passive beneficiaries. Women’s anger challenges men to acknowledge attempts to trivialize oppression with “I was only kidding.” And women’s anger is unacceptable to men who look to women to take care of them, to prop up their need to feel in control, and to support them in their competition with other men. When women are less than gracious and good-humored about their own oppression, men often feel uncomfortable, embarrassed, at a loss, and therefore vulnerable.
Allan G. Johnson (via loveyourchaos)
This rings SO true!
(via radicallane)
(Source: siminator, via theoceanandthesky)
when you say that if i want to make an impact or teach the ignorant masses i have to be nicer about it, what you’re implying is that those that contribute to my systematic oppression, be it out of malice or well-meaning ignorance, regardless, are not doing something fucking heinous and the anger that i feel in response isn’t justified or appropriate.
and it totally fucking is.
i am responding with the tone that has been set by fucked up behavior that dehumanizes and actively fucking endangers me. not only do i not owe my oppressors shit, but when i have the emotional resources to do so, i prioritize anger as the appropriate, deserved response. because it IS. and what’s more i hold true to the belief that if oppressive behavior is overwhelmingly met with anger and disapproval, if it is shut down at every turn rather than indulged as acceptable with the courtesy of politeness, we do more to put a stop to that shit.
which is not by any means to say that those who have a different method or are unable to respond in anger are doing it wrong. we gotta navigate oppression in the best, most self-sustaining way that we can. but personally, when i have the resources to shout, i do, because it gets shit done for me more than asking nicely ever has.
my acknowledgment as a person deserving of as much respect as the next is a fucking right. there is no “please” in this equation, nor will there ever be.
(via theoceanandthesky)
I think we can all recognize that the “it’s a joke excuse” is the most dismissive, self-righteous loophole, created by those who refuse to examine their power, and assume they have not only the right to say whatever they want to people, but the right to control how other people react to what they have said.
Loose Talk: You can take your “just joking” and shove it.
Posting this again in light of Penny Arcade’s Dickwolves Debacle.
(via xuananigans)
Ahhh I love this
(via thefemcritique)
Saving the shit out of this so I can use it every time I hear some asshole say “it’s a joke”.
(via thefuror)
(via jenfromjersey)
greaterthanlapsed:Sady Doyle’s take on “call-out culture” versus “calling out.”
In which Sady articulates a lot of my own opinions on the topic and allows me to feel a bit of reprieve from feeling like I ought to articulate them myself.
One thing I would like to add:
I’m relatively new to feminism myself, having only started thinking of myself as a feminist these last couple of years. While I post a lot on things that I feel like I can participate in discussing, I am reminded every single day that I have so so so much to learn still—which means I need to listen to other people (Tumblr has been kind of awesome for broadening my horizons, actually).
As a white, relatively [self-]educated, middle-class raised, cis woman in a heterosexual relationship, I know that I have a lot of privilege. Indeed, I cringe—a lot—at some of the opinions I used to hold, that I was able to hold on to because of my privilege. (Hint: I used to consider myself a Libertarian.)
That being said, if I say something unintentionally asinine, I hope someone would let me know it. A simple, “Hey! Your privilege is showing and here’s why!” would do it.
Call-out culture rears it’s head on Tumblr often enough to make me uncomfortable. In some ways it’s helpful to me to see examples of What Not To Do. However, it also can make me feel uncertain, alienated, self-conscious, and (occasionally) defensive. It makes me obsessive sometimes about parsing my words, and it has prevented me from speaking my opinion sometimes because I was unsure how it would be received.
It’s just. I don’t know. Intimidating, I guess? No one wants to be labeled “Scum of the Earth” because they said something insensitive or unknowingly rude. No one wants to be talked down to or abused because they asked a question that all the other kids in the room already knew the answer to. I guess it just feels sometimes like a barrier to entry into “the movement.”
It’s worth noting that often the people who are calling you out are doing so because your words have made them feel uncertain, alienated, self-conscious, and defensive.
I don’t like “tone” arguments, and that generally seems to be the gist of Sady’s argument and yours. The idea is that if people would only be nice and sweet in their address to you, it would be easier to swallow their criticism. I can say, for one, that pretty much any time someone calls you out for privilege, no matter how nice they are, it still fucking stings and you’re probably going to feel defensive until you have time to internalize the concept.
For another, if what you’ve said is hurtful to someone else, even if it’s unintentionally, I don’t really see why the offended party should be nice to you. I just don’t. I mean, you’ve probably encountered a complete and total jackass (or hundreds) on the internet who said—probably with good intentions and zero understanding of why their statement is fucking offensive—something that is completely racist, sexist, homophobic, ableist, etc. and you didn’t even take a deep breath before you lit into their privileged, offensive ass. (I know for a fact that Sady has.) So why would you expect someone else to be nice to you when you say something that is offensive to them?
I guess my general thoughts on this are: if you’re discussing politics or social justice online, you’ve got to be willing to accept that people are reading what you have to say with a critical eye, that some people will take those words very personally (sometimes with good reason), and that sometimes, people just aren’t going to be fucking nice to you. Sometimes you are going to say something that is so offensive to someone, even if you had the best of intentions when you said it, they are going to shred you to pieces. While I don’t know whether this is always or even often productive, I don’t think that the anger or lack of interest in “educating” a white lady (or other privileged person) on her own privilege makes what the offended person has to say any less valid.
If the awareness that what you are saying is being read by people from diverse backgrounds who might be offended by what you are saying—even if the offense is inadvertent on your part—is making you more aware of your own words and how they might make other people feel, then I’d say that’s a good thing. The fun thing about being a person with privilege is that you say shit all the time that hurts people’s feelings, erases their experiences and identities, and generally exhibits a basic lack of awareness of how the world is for other people—all of which is damaging and has lived negative effects for other people—and you don’t have a merry fucking clue because you’ve got enough privilege to be above it all.
That the internet gives a less privileged person the opportunity to make you feel as shitty as you’ve made them feel with your thoughtless, off-the-cuff opinions? I think that’s awesome. And I say that as a white lady who has been chewed up one side and down the other on more than one occasion and usually deserved it (however little I would have admitted it at the time.)
I’d say that any person who comes into “the movement” (whatever that is or means) with the expectation that this is going to be a pleasant experience for you and that everyone’s going to love you to pieces just for trying to be a better human being and make the world a better place…I’m sorry, but you’re not really in the movement. If you think you deserve to get an easy treatment just for participating in a movement when you occasionally express sentiments or ideas that are flagrantly offensive to other people in the movement and often contradictory to the aims of the movement, then you’re not really interested in being in the movement for the movement. The barrier here is not mean people who are not you, but you yourself, unwilling or unable to confront the fact that you may hold ideas that are deeply hurtful to others and counter to social justice.
I like that people call me out and make me feel uncomfortable about the ideas that I’ve long held in complaisance and ignorance. I like that some people have gotten downright ugly with me. I need that. I’ve had more than a handful of these experiences, and they’ve shaken me to my core. Even if I didn’t come around in the moment, those are the things that have stuck with me the longest, those moments where I saw myself in the harsh light of someone else’s perspective.
I don’t expect people to be nice to me, and you shouldn’t either. Sometimes you don’t deserve it. And honestly, I think this whole, “If only you said it nicely,” thing coming from Sady is pretty rich. I mean, really?
Emphasis mine.
Stop it with the “slack-tivism” (which is by my definition doing nothing more that “spreading the word” via social media and thinking you’re making a difference).
I’m a realist and I think what pisses me off the most about this whole thing is the sheer lack of thought: The middle east has been one of the most inhumane places longer than most of you have been alive, even longer than I’ve been alive, hell even longer than my dad has been alive. And now because the media is bringing to light these uprisings you’re astonished?
Women have been raped with guns, metal rods, knives and any other fucking thing some monster can get his hands on. Thousands of feminist organizations have been trying for YEARS to get the word out about this and now because of the unrest and uprising people are all of a sudden horrified as to the treatment they receive. Children have been massacred, left for dead and mutilated; families torn apart and men chopped to bits in Africa, The Middle East, Haiti, Cambodia….I could go on and on. But now that CNN has something to show every 3 minutes on the Middle East uprising people are astonished at the cruelty of mankind.
Most of you weren’t even alive when the Genocide in Rwanda or Cambodia happened; Haiti has had several revolutions over the years and there have been more civil wars and violence in Africa than I can count on my two hands. What about those lives that were lost? What about the thousands of people who have fallen by the wayside because we now have a “better” revolution to focus our attention on?
Sure getting the attention out there is great, and raising money for aid is admirable but I give it a year and you will forget that fire that you felt in your gut. That’s how we are unless we do more than just hit the “Retweet,” “Reblog” or share button. Own up to your passion: if you say you won’t forget than don’t fucking forget. Educate yourself, remember that uprisings and revolutions have happened in the past and are still happening. There are women out there who can’t leave their own house because the second they step out on the street they’re raped or beaten, this is not a new thing and no change will be made by jumping from one “hot topic” to the other.
You say you’re outraged by people paying more attention to pop stars than this, are you able to say with confidence that you will actively pursue this cause; that you will not forget within a year and you will never stop fighting until the war is won?
That’s the dedication required, not slack-tivism. Don’t give me your reasons or explanations for why you can’t do it. If you’re willing to stand up and say this world is an ugly place and human beings are disgusting, then you better have the tenacity to pursue your fight.
Well, do you?
Do you know how many genocides and holocausts don’t get talked about? I think we need to examine the reasons why this happens, completely. It is a disservice to the people and those genocides. But not only are you generalizing a whole people and countries. I have a problem with your use of slack-tivism. And I would like to know what feminist organizations these were, as well. More often than not the aid is coming from white women and a lot of the women in these situations also don’t feel comfortable with it. You assume that the people that reblog these things don’t care as well. Personally, I know friends who have educated me more on this stuff than I could ever imagine. You have to remember what a Western view a lot of this is coming from.
You don’t have the right to judge people’s activism. I am not mad for people paying attention to pop stars. They can do what they want. People are putting information out there and have at it what will. What do you want to accomplish with this post? Do you want to feel better because you’re a better activist than some of us? By all means. Are you trying to shut down this discussion? What is your fucking point.
(Source: vintage-lullaby, via tapesongs)
This is sorta related to dashboard stuff and sorta related to an ongoing real life conversation:
No one is challenging your right to make personal choices that are more restricted than your political ideals, and that includes taking a pro-choice stance but choosing not to have an abortion. All anyone wants is for you to examine
1) why you feel it is necessary to state your personal position in a discussion of political ideals,
2) which assumptions inform your determination to state unequivocally that you will never have an abortion, and
3) how that unsolicited declaration might sound to someone whose life has taken a different path - a path that you claim to support, but only with the qualification that you could never do the same.Honestly, it’s not even about abortion. That process should kick in every time you feel the need to demand your personal situation be heard above a broader discussion, particularly if you are in a position of privilege in that discussion. Every “but not ALL white people, because I would never…” needs the same reflection. Why do I want to derail this conversation? What assumptions and privileges inform my determination that I have the right to do so? Who am I silencing, and at what cost to them? Why does this need to be about me at all? And then shut the fuck up, because most of the time the answers will lead you to more listening and less hair-trigger defensiveness designed to erase other people’s lived experiences.
(via thecranium)
