Racism isn't just "a card" some people "play"

[bcholmes]

Blaming people of color for Prop. 8 passing in California is racist. So cut it the fuck out. Ditto for veiling your racism with "this is because of turnout for Obama" or "you know how conservative those immigrants can be."

sparkymonster states one of those things that I wanted to believe was obvious, but which apparently is not.

Edit: Here's another good response to the "let's blame the brown people" phenomenon.

Edit the second: Here's a statistical analysis of a white election.

Edit the third: Daily Kos has a good analysis, too!

Comments

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

I respect your anger. But "We lost because *they* voted" sets off a lot of disenfranchisement triggers in the civil rights communities. It's what the bad guys say and do behind closed doors, except that they are cautious enough to use sneaky catchphrases when speaking in public.

I've always been an ally of the GLBT community, and I trust that I always will be. But minority turnout in elections is a great thing, and I hope it grows so much that they can't ever be ignored. One of the socio-political catchphrases that has never sat well with me is "Educating you is not my job", and Tuesday was a object lesson in what happens when that job goes undone.

[lisaquestions.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think that the phrase "educating you is not my job" is supposed to mean something other than what it's used to mean. That is, I think it's supposed to point out the power imbalance between a marginalized group and a privileged group, and how the expectation to be educated is also an expectation that marginalized people justify themselves so thoroughly there's no room for even the tiniest doubt, or the validity of their lives is rejected as wrong.

That is, I think it's a response to the way the privileged majority places more of a burden on marginalized people to justify themselves than they place upon themselves. The "it's not my responsibility" to educate is supposed to (I always thought) point out that discrepancy.

There's also the ways in which privileged people ask marginalized people questions - which tend to be inappropriate and invasive, and every marginalized person is treated as a potential teacher of exotic customs.

[bcholmes.livejournal.com]

Well said.

[cantkeepsilent.livejournal.com]

Thank you. My point of view is that we need to have honest and fearless communication throughout society, and I do need to be reminded that my privilege can blind me to the work that needs to be done before that dialog can be fully realized. But it is my fervent wish that we get there someday.

Also, in rereading my response I notice that the second paragraph suggests that the GLBT community is responsible if Prop. 8 passes. That was wrong and I'm sorry. It is the fault of the people who proposed it and the people who supported it with half-truths and fear-mongering. And it is the fault of a government that doesn't automatically and categorically reject legislation at any level that violates the Equal Protection Clause. This is the United States of America, and nobody should need to fight for their rights.