They wanted their country back but knew nothing of legal process and of
law They threatened gay journalists, politicians and the police, they
treated social war on the liberal left..
Even getting the softer right to admit that anything was wrong with the Robinson approach was like trying to get the essence of liberalism out of the bricks of the Hitler bunker. When you did they screamed ad hominems like it was projectile vomit. It was an external locus of awareness not an internal ontological one. It was the Left that was to blame, they hated the expert, the historian and the social scientists. The Left were the cause not the bankers; the system and the market. To them Tommy was in Calvary be was their messiah the distilled essence of hate. The fear of the other the different was clear.. they were white males; insecure projecting, displacing; afraid the inner Tommy Robinson that has possessed so many will not go away till we know ourselves, know our insecurities and fears. Till then he will not go away.
Graham mallaghan makes this very interesting point " And another EDL activitist - also a fine aryan - groomed, raped, and killed 15 year old Paige Chivers in Blackpool a few years back, and it doing life for it. His flat was a destination for vulnerable girls whom he plied with drugs and booze before raping them. He killed that young person because she threatened to expose him. He had previously been a BNP activitist. And Jason Connolly, who killed Baby P, was obsessed with the Nazis and a follower of present day far right movements. He had an IQ of 75.
It is darkly amusing how many followers of the far don't realise that Iif they got the fourth reich that they long for, many of them would be loaded into cattle trucks shortly after its establishment. With his record of persistent criminality, Yaxley-Lennon/Robinson would be one of them."
Even getting the softer right to admit that anything was wrong with the Robinson approach was like trying to get the essence of liberalism out of the bricks of the Hitler bunker. When you did they screamed ad hominems like it was projectile vomit. It was an external locus of awareness not an internal ontological one. It was the Left that was to blame, they hated the expert, the historian and the social scientists. The Left were the cause not the bankers; the system and the market. To them Tommy was in Calvary be was their messiah the distilled essence of hate. The fear of the other the different was clear.. they were white males; insecure projecting, displacing; afraid the inner Tommy Robinson that has possessed so many will not go away till we know ourselves, know our insecurities and fears. Till then he will not go away.
Graham mallaghan makes this very interesting point " And another EDL activitist - also a fine aryan - groomed, raped, and killed 15 year old Paige Chivers in Blackpool a few years back, and it doing life for it. His flat was a destination for vulnerable girls whom he plied with drugs and booze before raping them. He killed that young person because she threatened to expose him. He had previously been a BNP activitist. And Jason Connolly, who killed Baby P, was obsessed with the Nazis and a follower of present day far right movements. He had an IQ of 75.
It is darkly amusing how many followers of the far don't realise that Iif they got the fourth reich that they long for, many of them would be loaded into cattle trucks shortly after its establishment. With his record of persistent criminality, Yaxley-Lennon/Robinson would be one of them."
Adventures in 'White Fragility'
February 14, 2017
Having hard conversations with people about race and intersectionality
can be extremely uncomfortable, especially with my white friends.
Currently, our political climate has made it difficult to go about your
day without being bombarded by some kind of call to action, for this
cause or that, or call your representative and tell them to vote “NO
WAY!” However, as a person of color, who is also queer, I’ve lived my
whole life suffering under the yoke of intersectional oppression. I’m
cool! I can keep going without being too worried or anxious about what’s
going on in the world. I just prepare for the worst and hope for the
best.
I wake up every day expecting some form of microaggression
or another to be peppered throughout my day. Last week, we were doing a
presentation on microaggressions and how to spot them when you see one.
I asked if anyone has dealt with a microaggression or seen one
happen. I told the folks in the audience I could probably go all day
giving them several different examples that have happened to me, just
during work situations.
The
one I like to tell was the time I was going to a hotel and presenting a
training in one of the conference rooms. I walk up to the front desk to
ask them where the training was being held.
Front desk person: “Oh, housekeeping is on the 2nd floor.”
Me: “No, I’m actually putting on the training for [insert organization name here].”
He
then proceeds to point me in the right direction, and I was on my way.
Mind you, he didn't apologize for assuming I was there for the new
housekeeper training.
When I
arrived at the room, my Program Coordinator was already there, and I
asked her did they try to send her to the 2nd floor, too. She looked at
me puzzled, and I told her what happened. She recalled that she said the
exact same thing to the same front desk person, and he automatically
sent her to the room where the training was. She is white, just in case
you were wondering. She said she probably got there maybe five or ten
minutes before me.
However,
when I tell this story to people I don't work with, many will try to
invalidate my experience and say that either A) I am being too sensitive
and reading into things, or B) he didn’t mean it that way. Which I
truly believe white people say so they can feel better about the world
we live in and that it’s not as racist or sexist or homophobic as it
actually is. This is where a lot of my white friends have failed and
faltered when it comes to understanding their own “White Fragility.”
To become a real ally, accomplice, advocate, or whatever you want to
call yourself, one must admit they are also part of the problem they are
trying to fix.
Dee Sabol, our Executive Director, wrote about this in her recent blog about white privilege and white responsibility, what that means and what that looks like. She also brought up the term White Fragility.
The term was coined by Robin DiAngelo, who said “White Fragility is a
state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes
intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include
the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and
behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the
stress-inducing situation. These behaviors, in turn, function to
reinstate white racial equilibrium” (2011, pg. 57).
Basically,
when a person of color calls out a white person’s privilege a myriad of
emotions well up inside the white person that comes to the surface as
guilt, shame, denial, sadness, and frustration. Depending on your
toolbox and coping skills it can manifest itself as defensiveness,
anger, and tears. White tears are dangerous, and many folks of color have written on the dangers of white tears.
The tears of white women have killed young black men or got them strung
up in a tree or dragged behind a car. The tears of black, brown,
native, LGBTQ+ (unless they are white), and non-able-bodied people are
discounted, minimized, or completely ignored.
Whites
who position themselves in self-defense against attacks of racial bias
turn the narrative around and place themselves as the “real” victim,
who’s being blamed, attacked, and used as a punching bag for race and
racism in society. DiAngelo (2011) describes this as positioning
themselves as morally superior while at the same time concealing the
power of their own social location.
In Sara Watts (2016) article “White Fragility is Real: 4 Questions White People Should Ask Themselves During Discussion About Race,” and the four questions are:
1. Am I trying to change the subject?
2. Am I using inappropriate humor to deflect?
3. Am I getting defensive or angry?
4. Am I going out of my way not to focus on “the negative?”
Watts
concludes by saying white people who feel hopeless, angry, and
desperate to help they don’t know what to do to end systematic white
supremacy. However, she does know that when the conversation of race is
brought up, and white people become angry and defensive conversations
stop, and so does understanding. Therefore, nothing is resolved,
feelings are suppressed, and tensions continue to build. In order to
help and not be a fragile white person, you have to be okay and get used
to being uncomfortable.
Courtney Martin, (2015) a self-proclaimed white woman, wrote:
"If
it feels difficult, and it does to me, you’re probably on the right
track. Dismantling centuries of dehumanizing institutions and practices —
both in the world and within ourselves — can’t be a simple process. The
good news is that transforming your fragility into courageous
imperfection is the beginning of a lot more joy. It’s the beginning of a
lot more connection. It’s the beginning of the end of racism."
To
be able to truly feel joy one must know what the opposite must feel
like, and I guess that would be centuries of dehumanizing institutions
and practices of oppression. So don't ever tell me I don't know what
true happiness feels like. It feels like freedom. It feels like the
sound of chains breaking. It feels like the collective liberation of all
people. It feels -- amazing.
I
don't expect everyone to think, or feel, or act the way I do. I do
expect people (those who want real social change) to dig deep down
inside themselves and ask, "How much am I willing to sacrifice for
justice? And, what does that truly look like for me?" As a person of
color I am not your guide through this adventure of white fragility.
However, I am willing to be your friend and ally through the process of
finding your courage to overcome the shame, guilt, anger, and
frustration that has paralyzed so many for so long from showing up
(Judge 2017). Showing up for #BlackLivesMatter. Showing up for
immigrants, refugees, and Muslims. Showing up for the LGBTQ+ community.
Showing up for women and girls. Showing up for people with different
abilities. Showing up for everyone who isn't like them. Basically, just
showing up when historically marginalized people need you to show up.
I'm
not going to tell you how to show up. I'm not going to give five easy
steps on showing up. Because finding the courage to overcome years and
years of social programming is complex. It requires a commitment to do
the work, to overcome your own personal limiting beliefs and fears. It
requires white people to share their privilege equitably. It's not about
losing or giving away your power, but to find a way to share and work
together in order to create a pluralistic society, to begin dismantling a
system that has privileged and empowered a certain group of people
based on race for hundreds of years, and thousands of years
for patriarchy.
I do not
discount, ignore, or minimize white people tears. Because those feelings
are real. But, for far too long I have set aside my own tears to
comfort the white fragility of others. Now, it's your turn to wash your
face and get back to work. Because we have a lot of work to do.
References
DiAngelo, Robin. (2011). White Fragility. Retrieved from https://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/viewFile/249/116
Judge, Monique (2017). White Fragility Leads to White Violence: Why Conversations About Race with White People Fall Apart. Retrieved from http://www.theroot.com/white-fragility-leads-to-white-violence-why-conversati-1791233086
Martin, Courtney E. (2015). Transforming White Fragility into Courageous Imperfection. Retrieved from https://onbeing.org/blog/transforming-white-fragility-into-courageous-imperfection/
Watts, Sarah (2016). White fragility is real: 4 questions white people should ask themselves during discussions about race. Retrieved from https://www.salon.com/2016/07/18/white_fragility_is_real_4_questions_white_people_should_ask_themselves_during_discussions_about_race/
Young, Damon (2015). The Term “White Tears” is Funny, but What it Often Leads to Isn’t. Retrieved from http://www.theroot.com/the-term-white-tears-is-funny-but-what-it-often-lead-1790861731
Additional Readings
Adler-Bell, Sam (2015). Why
White People Freak Out When They’re Called Out About Race: White
Fragility is a defensive response to real conversations about race. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/culture/why-white-people-freak-out-when-theyre-called-out-about-race
Kegler, Anna (2016). The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-kegler/the-sugarcoated-language-of-white-fragility_b_10909350.html
Morris, Ben (2016). The Myth of White Fragility and How Social Justice Warriors Fail to Understand Their Critics. Retrieved from https://hdp.press/the-myth-of-white-fragility-and-how-social-justice-warriors-fail-to-understand-their-critics-c8e9ad75825c#.uvfvw07ka
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