> On Oct 9, 2011, at 4:16 PM, shag carpet bomb wrote:
>> ravi, some people think that, when white people say they hope for a
>> race-blind (color-blind) society, that they are usually in denial of
>> the racist social organization and social relations that currently
>> exist.
>
>
> By this do you mean the difference between personal attitudes
> (colour/race blindness?) vs structures/relations? You mentioned white
> Obama supporters and taking on the post-race society mantle
but won't
> even these moderate types acknowledge that racism continues to be a
> reality in our society?
I don't know... look. I work with 3 black guys, so I overhear a lot. The other day, a secretary for the CIO came by for some reason. She started talking to one of my mates who I'll call Jim. She started going on about NYC with JIm.
Jim was obviously (to me) confused, but smiled and tried to change the topic so as not to embarrass her. The reason why he let her save face was b/c she was confusing Jim with Alan who is from Brooklyn whereas Jim is from very rural South Carolina. Both are black. The other big issue for Jim and Alan is colorism among the group itself. They see Jim as very light, Alan as very dark. Clearly, they are very different looking - to their own way of seeing. When a white person doesn't see these gradations in color - and many don't -- this is read as a form of racism. More on this thorny topic later...)
So, When Alan returned Jim shared the story about how the secretary confused the two of them. There wasn't a lot of anger, just a kind of... 'nother day, 'nother dollar... If you got angry at every little thing, you'd be pissed off all day....
for Alan and Jim this was a very ordinary, everyday experience of racism. I won't bother to detail what I notice myself with my very limited ability to see this stuff, but I notice something happen like this almost every day, in an environment where blacks make up about 40% of the workplace. I'm sure you've experienced enough yourself.
And even if what they are seeing isn't racism, and we're talking two extremely non-political guys when it comes to discussing these issues in the workplace, which is to say, even if the events are explicable... the fact is, they can't help but have gone through life in such a way as to have experienced this sort of thing often enough to interpret it as such. And what they get upset with, from where I sit observing, is that there's nothing to suggest that white people should ever care that this happens. It kind of does matter when a college educated co-worker says, "So, are you hotter because you have black skin?"
It's like a guy from Russia, inviting people over for a picnic. A bunch of people got upset because there's ahistory behind the word. Even though it is an urban legend, there is a feeling that you should just avoid inviting black folks to picnics - call it something else!
My point in telling you this is that the secretary would freak out if anyone told her that what she did felt racist. The Russian guy was really bothered. Dude, I didn't know about that urban legend. I wasn't being racist. I didn't know...
To which one of the guys I worked with replied, "Exactly. YOu have NO idea about the history of that word. That is the problem. You have so little understanding of life from the perspective of black people, you aren't aware of what's even offensive for us...."
so, yes, a lot of white people would deny it in so far as they wouldn't see the ways they reproduce it. They would say that, sure, Hank Williams Jr is racist, but not they themselves. The republicans are racist, not democrats. Southerners are racist, not us... And I'm sure, on this list, most people will attack all of this, the way that my co-workers articulate and experience racism, as unimportant. It's not the real problem people on the list say. The real problem is capitalism, not issues of respect, etc.
Anyway, that's a concrete example. I think people are coming from that perspective when they are talking about how racism does still exist in terms of daily interactions and practice and that, yes, white folks would deny that they participate in even this kind of racism. The racism here they are describing is a lack of knowledge about other people's lives.
and the reason why people deny it is also that people too often see the label as a personal insult. more on that later.
as for the author not explaining more, my guess is that she was writing to a specific audience of people of color feminists - radical woman of color feminists - who use shorthand to speak to one another. there's a certain level of speech that is foundational, already agreed upon, which doesn't get discussed for all groups.
her suggested change, as i read her, was to say to her radical women of color friends:
1. yes, we know that there are problems with sexism and racism in OWS 2. but something's going on there and the solution isn't to sit by and let them continue organizing in our absence.
3. we have to fight it. it's scary but it's also exhilarating to talk to white males about sexism and racism in the OWS movement. But we had a victory here, so let's keep pushing forward.
I don't know about you, so I'll just speak about my experience organizing with radical woman of color. I'm at this point characterizing what I heard, so it may be unfair, but I'll do the best I can:
1. It is extremely terrifying to speak to whites about racial issues regarding either personal interaction or organization practice or language. You feel all alone, like you shouldn't be caqusing problems, that no one agrees with you, that everyone will dislike your interruption.
2. Every time I've been involved in anything like this, women of color have had a really hard time using the word "racism". They absolutely know that the person who is in their group will feel personally insulted by the label.
You can see the author of this piece speaking to that, as she discusses how they tried to discuss this with the men involved, trying to reassure them that they understood that the language was an effect of social structure not the result of individuals being bad people.
That's why I'm reading this as a piece written TO fellow radical women of color who share a similar anlaysis of captialist patriarchy (as bell hooks calls it) and not necessarily to other groups.
>I get the feeling they will
but my
> interactions, even with Obama supporters, is small and non-diverse
> (i.e, techies = libertarianism with a soft heart and a few identity
> issues :-)).
>
> I might, as you suggest write to her. I am not sure why she didn’t
> step past the personal reaction stage to explain to her readers
> (including brown people like me) what she found problematic and,
> perhaps more important, what her suggested change was (and with that,
> the final form of that section).
>
> (responses to Carrol and TJG to follow)
>
> Appreciate the comments,
>
> —ravi
>
>
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