tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8124101518567133332024-03-13T20:22:21.642-07:00Silver and ShadowMiss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.comBlogger575125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-57119240837648134742023-10-01T08:40:00.008-07:002023-10-01T08:40:52.997-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-The ConclusionThe End or the Beginning?<div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This has been a lot, I
know. All of this just scratched the surface of antiracism. You are probably
overwhelmed, and feeling a lot of emotions about it. It’s been a long month.
This is good. Just sit and live with those feelings for a while.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Now is the time for quiet
reflection and beginning to look inward into your own life and thoughts to see
where you now stand on antiracism. Reread this all from the start, and see it
with opened eyes.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Once you have worked
through your feelings, you can begin the other work. Read the books, educate
yourself. And above all, humble yourself. You can beat yourself up for not
coming around sooner, or you can just get going.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Other things you can
start doing: Voting like Black lives matter, supporting Black-owned businesses,
showing up to protests. And most importantly: talking to other white people
about all of this. This is our job, and we can get it done if enough of us want
it to get done. Are you one of us?</span><div><br /></div></div>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-28321784816703524672023-09-30T08:39:00.006-07:002023-09-30T08:39:25.365-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 30<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why Do Black People Get Arrested More Than white People?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This harkens back to past
topics, including the school-to-prison pipeline, over-policing of Black and
brown neighborhoods, and the 13</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Amendment. All those issues add up
to more Black people being arrested than white people. Please believe me when I
say this is the system working as designed, it’s not broken.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Black and white people
commit crimes at about the same rate, but the justice system, built to benefit
white people, works to disproportionately affect Black and brown communities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">You might have gotten the
idea in your head that Black people must be inherently more dangerous and
likely to commit crimes, and this is because of how the media and entertainment
industry reinforced what the legal system already does. We see it, we hear
about it, but we never think about why. This is white supremacy in action. We
are trained to excuse our own issues. white shooter?-lone wolf, mental illness,
loneliness, improper upbringing, etc. But always that one person’s issue, never
a collective issue. Black shooter? -Well, what do you expect? This is what
society and the media beat into our brains daily.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Black people are arrested
more because they are literally targeted more. They are overpoliced and the
justice system is set up in such a way that people are encouraged to plead
guilty in exchange for lesser sentences because it saves time and is less of a
strain on an overburdened system. Even if they are not guilty. Keep this in
mind.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">We must start seeing
how white supremacy works to protect white people from punishments Black people
rarely are spared from. And get that idea out of your head right now that there
is any sort of inherent criminality or violent tendencies by the Black
community. That is just pure racism.</span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-42292038379407087152023-09-29T08:01:00.003-07:002023-09-29T08:01:10.290-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 29<p>Black-on-Black Violence</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Oh, this old chestnut...A lot of white people
seem terribly concerned about so-called “Black-on-Black” crime/violence, mostly
in Chicago, for some reason. Why are you concerned about this? What does it
have to do with dismantling white supremacy? Are you trying to imply that
because there is this alleged issue, then white people don’t need to stop
white-on-Black violence/crime? This is usually in the form of cops. When there
is a high-profile murder of a Black person by a cop in this country, this
argument pops up. Like clockwork.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Are you concerned at all
about white-on-white violence/crime in this country? If not, why not? Have you
ever given a thought to segregated cities or gang violence as a direct result
of white supremacy? Do you enjoy Mafia movies and shows while railing against
“inner city” gang violence? If so, your white supremacy is showing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Again, this goes back to
staying in our lane. Work on dismantling white supremacy, and stay out of Black
people’s business.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-11716754113841409922023-09-28T06:25:00.002-07:002023-09-28T06:25:06.833-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 28<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Africans Had/Sold Slaves Too...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">So, that makes chattel
slavery ok? There has been slavery in most societies for as long as there have
been humans, and none of it was ok. But chattel slavery, generational slavery,
is different from most other forms of slavery, and that must be acknowledged.
And it is the basis of our nation. That has to be acknowledged as well. I’m not
talking about super long ago slavery, I’m talking about the one that built this
country, and all our systems. That’s why it still matters, and why we bring it
up even though it was a “long time ago.” Thanksgiving was a long time ago too,
but you have no problem bringing it up every November…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The idea of bringing up
Africa’s role in the slave trade seems to be an attempt at shifting the blame,
but there would be no selling if there was no buying. If there was no market
for enslaved people, they wouldn’t be sold. We don’t get to shift that blame.
Is that why you bring it up? Are you trying to say that what our ancestors did
wasn’t as bad because other people participated in it as well? We shouldn’t
have to change our behavior and our systems because others did it too? The
other groups didn’t set up a white supremacist system in this country for us to
benefit from.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Also, this is a case of
staying in our lane. How Black communities in this country and African nations
today deal with their past, is actually none of our business. Our business is
to dismantle white supremacy. This is a whattaboutism argument of the worst
sort.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-34581664669950966032023-09-27T06:26:00.007-07:002023-09-27T06:26:37.265-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 27<p>Irish "Slaves"</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This is absolutely untrue.
There is a huge difference between indentured service, and chattel slavery.
Indentured service is voluntary, and temporary. It’s a set time working off a
debt in exchange for money for things like passage to the US from Ireland, in
this case. It was not being kidnapped, chained to a boat, sold away from
friends and family, and living the rest of your life as a captive, working for
no pay, and any children you have being born into that system, as well.
Indentured service was not generational.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Did the Irish face
discrimination in this country when they first arrived? Absolutely, but they
were never slaves. They have also since been inducted into whiteness and
benefit from and participate in white supremacy now.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Think of indentured
service in terms of today. A good example is a person joining the military to
pay for medical school or college. The military pays for your schooling, and
you work a set amount of time in the military to pay them back. This is a
voluntary state of being, unlike the involuntary state of enslavement. It’s
insulting to compare the two. Please stop perpetuating this harmful myth.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-19625870609859236022023-09-26T06:26:00.000-07:002023-09-26T06:26:03.593-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 26<p>Reparations</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This is a mostly
unpopular idea for white people in the US, because it involves a potential loss
of money, as well as formally acknowledging our nation’s and ancestors’ guilt,
and the fact that we currently benefit from white supremacy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Reparations is the idea
of financially compensating people for wrongs done to them, or their ancestors.
It is a huge step on the way to equity. No amount of money will ever make up
for our past wrongs or current benefits, but it’s mostly symbolic. Black
people, and their ancestors, are owed acknowledgement and apologies for what we
did.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">There is no current
consensus of what or how reparations will be handled, but I highly suggest you
start working on your feelings about it now. This is the right thing to do. Our
nation has done it in the past, for Japanese Americans interned during the
second World War. We must do this for Black and Indigenous people in this
country. Whether it’s money or land back, the communities should decide, and we
make it happen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">No more excuses. But when
we do this, it will not resolve inequity or end white supremacy. It won’t be
“wiping the slate clean” or “now we’re even.” It’ll be a step in the right direction.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-42122874233164320892023-09-25T06:03:00.001-07:002023-09-25T06:03:48.824-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 25<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yes, the Majority of white People Voted for Trump</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I know you can’t fathom
that most white people in this country voted for Trump, but the statistics say
otherwise. We have to accept the fact that most white people in this country are willing to vote away their own rights in order to maintain white supremacy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">You, like me, might not
even now anybody personally who voted for Trump, but we have to accept this
hard truth. The majority of white people actively enjoy their white supremacy
and will fight tooth and nail to maintain it. Many will say they had no choice,
they vote GOP, regardless of the candidate and that it wasn’t about Trump.
Whatever the rationale, a GOP vote is a Trump vote.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And on that note, any
vote not for the Dem nominee, is a Trump vote. Voting 3</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">rd</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> party, not
voting at all, writing in a name, all that works in Trump’s favor. Another
large swath of white voters opted to do this, which helped elect Trump.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">So, what do we do about
this? The fact that we don’t know anybody personally who voted for Trump, is
actually a big problem. It means we’re not reaching out to others enough and
having those hard conversations. We need to interact more with people who think
differently from us, and work with them on white supremacy. This is our job as
white antiracists, to do that hard work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2018/08/09/an-examination-of-the-2016-electorate-based-on-validated-voters/">Stats for the Racial Breakdown of the 2016 Election.</a><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://ropercenter.cornell.edu/how-groups-voted-2020">Stats for the Racial Breakdown of the 2020 Election.</a><br /></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-36120080021109774752023-09-24T09:44:00.010-07:002023-09-24T09:44:49.340-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 24<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Why Education is Vital to
Ending white Supremacy; Why it’s Being Attacked.</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Before you started
learning about white supremacy and your role in either upholding or dismantling
it, you never gave it a thought, did you? You never actively tried to change
your behavior or work to make this country equitable for everybody, did you?
Now that you’re learning, even if you’re not actively doing that yet, you’re
thinking about it. The idea is there. You are becoming more open to it, and to
other ideas for dismantling white supremacy in this country. That’s what
education does.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">The US is founded on
violence against Black and Indigenous people. Pretending that isn’t the case
doesn’t change it. It doesn’t stop racism. The idea that white children must
never be made to feel bad about the past, is absurd. Most children, if I am an
example, will feel bad and turn that into outrage, or be inspired to fix the
problems our ancestors created. But maybe that’s the actual fear? The excuse of
children feeling bad is a red herring for the fact that white adults are afraid
of future generations dismantling the white supremacy that makes them feel safe
and powerful over others.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If enough white people
get educated and outraged, we might act collectively to dismantle white
supremacy. We have the power, all we have to do is use it. And that scares a
lot of white people.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Sometimes white supremacy
seems like an entity outside of us. Like a being that ultimately controls the country
and everybody in it. It has nothing to do with us, personally. That’s actually
a failsafe, built into it, as a protection. Keeping white people both scared,
and insisting on their individuality so they never realize they’re a
collective, with collective power, is its greatest protection. This is an “us”
problem to get over.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-7166219328420943222023-09-23T08:41:00.001-07:002023-09-23T08:41:20.186-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 23<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">13<sup>th</sup> Amendment & School-to-Prison Pipeline</span><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Did you know that slavery
is still legal in the US? The 13</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Amendment of our Constitution,
while seemingly ending slavery, actually ensures it. It’s baked right into our
laws, but nobody seemed to notice. Well, the wrong people did notice it…
“Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment of crime…”
Except…We have an exception for which slavery is still legal: People convicted
of a crime and sent to prison can be slaves.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">So, if you’re a racist
living in a state where slavery has ended after the Civil War, but you still
don’t want to live with or work with Black people, this exception to the rule
is going to be a focal point for you. You’re going to work with other racists
to use the system and make sure as many Black people as possible are convicted
of crimes and imprisoned. Policing would be weaponized to over-police certain areas
over others. Focusing on crimes in certain places that are overlooked in other
areas. Sometimes it would be used to frame people, or force people into
committing a crime in order to keep a racial power imbalance. And using the
rest of the legal system to make it more difficult for Black and brown
community members to escape punishment. This is what developed after the Civil
War ended and the 13</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> Amendment was enacted. To this day, it is
still the system in force. Our laws are often applied more often and more
harshly for Black and brown people, than for white people.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">What is the
“School-to-prison pipeline?” It’s another tool in the arsenal to imprison as
many Black and brown people as possible. Starting at school age, Black children
are held to higher standards than their white counterparts. They are more
likely to be punished, suspended, and expelled than white children for the same
behaviors that are overlooked in white children. Leaving young people without
education opportunities severely limits their options later in life, setting
them up to be more likely to commit crimes, and sent to prison. This is
entirely by design…</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Recommendations for further
education:</span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://newjimcrow.com/">The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness</a><br /></span></div><div>I highly recommend this book, which helps spell out exactly how our system got to the point it's currently in. It's hard to refute when you know the facts and history. The question is, how do we undo it?</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://forwardjustice.org/resources/13th-documentary/">13th Documentary</a><br /></div><div>Ava DuVernay's documentary on Netflix is eye-opening and educational and I can't recommend it highly enough. Please do yourself a favor and watch it.</div><div><div><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></div></div>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-33241769710568195142023-09-22T07:55:00.006-07:002023-09-22T07:55:19.647-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 22<p>Defunding the Police</p><p>All right, now we start delving into some of the bigger concepts, now that we've gone through the basics, and manners. This is definitely just a taste of this subject, there is so much out there that you can research on your own.</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Ok, this is a big one.
First off, I don’t care if you don’t like the term. Or if you think it doesn’t
explain the idea enough. That’s the term that was chosen, and that’s what we’re
sticking with. It’s our job to explain it to other white people, so get over
it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Defunding the police does
not mean we will have no system of policing in this country. It does not mean
anarchy and chaos. Policing in this country was set up as an element of
slavery. People were hired to capture escaped enslaved people and return them to
their captors. Today, it is used to continue harassing Black and brown
communities while protecting and coddling white neighborhoods.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Police in this country
also have a lot of duties assigned to them that aren’t truly police work. The
idea behind defunding the police is to remove those functions from policing and
give them to more qualified people. Think mental-health-related issues, drug or
alcohol issues, etc. Why are jails being used as detox centers? This is well
outside the realm of police-work. This will actually keep police safer, in the
long run, for those of you “Blue” lives matter fans. It will create more jobs
for people, too. It’ll allow for things like rape kits to be tested in a timely
manner, and at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">There is a lot online
that you can research about it, and I recommend that you read more, because
it’s not the terrifying idea you think it is.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-44606903359164655492023-09-21T06:28:00.006-07:002023-09-21T06:28:29.400-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 21<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">I Grew Up Poor/I’m Part of a Marginalized Group Too</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people can
absolutely have hardships that have worked against them in their lives.
Disability, class level, access to healthcare, education, and employment
opportunities, etc, can all affect us, just like anybody else. The difference that
must be acknowledged is that, our whiteness played no role in it. In fact,
those things happened in spite of our whiteness, or randomly. Our white
supremacy places us in a position to better recover from our issues.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Non-white people are
marginalized specifically because they are not white, and our systems are made
to continue damaging them because of this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Comparing ourselves
to victims of racism will always be crass and insulting. Definitely get out of
this habit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">This is the last of the "manners" section. Starting tomorrow, we move into a section on political issues. Make sure to tune in!</span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-82519116001730168862023-09-20T06:27:00.003-07:002023-09-20T06:27:41.074-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 20<p>POC vs. Just say Black</p><p>One of the side effects of being raised to not see color, is to see race as a negative with no positives. This is probably because of how our ancestors treated non-white people, and we definitely know it. We know how our elders and neighbors talk about it, and maybe how we ourselves were raised and may have felt in the past. Because of this, we moved from not seeing color, to seeing only enough to acknowledge it the very least. So, we invented “people of color” or “POC.” It sounds nice, acknowledging that there are non-white people, but it ultimately lumps everybody together in one umbrella term.</p><p>The general consensus from different people I’ve read online, is that it’s better to just acknowledge race. Just say Black or Asian, etc. If you’re talking about Black people, just say Black people. It’s not taboo or bad, I promise. To think of it as such is to embrace our racism.</p><p>Too often, white people try to do the “we’re all one race, the human race,” mantra to sound accepting and tolerant(the bare minimum), but it really bypasses any of the work we have to do to dismantle white supremacy without actually dismantling it. Saying POC/People/Person of Color is a blanket term, and it’s lazy. We can do better.</p><div><br /></div>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-46339480534134782032023-09-19T08:00:00.005-07:002023-09-19T08:00:31.300-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 19<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;">Asking Black People to do Our Work for us</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">So, you’ve just learned
something about a new-to-you concept in the world of</span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> </span><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">antiracism and you want to learn even more,
and right now! There’s no time to lose! You want the person you’re talking to
to know how much you’re committed to learning all there is, and quickly, so
they’ll know you’re one of the good ones. Who better to teach you than the person
who just alerted you to this thing in the first place? Or, you just got into an
argument with somebody because you were centering your feelings and are now
demanding more information so you can be the judge of whether it’s legit.
You’ve been in these situations before, and for some reason, it never ended
well. Always a fight, always ended up hurting your feelings, and you probably
blocked the person by the end of it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Demanding an education or
answers, especially for things that you could find easily through google or
youtube, is a bad look. It centers ourselves, still, and expects somebody
already living the effects of racism, to set their feelings and needs aside to
tend to ours. Especially if you have just been arguing with somebody, why would
you think they’d be open to now teaching you about it? Nobody owes us an
education or their time, energy, or knowledge. Especially if you haven’t even
taken the time to look into this yourself, first.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I will also advise you
what I advise other white people: Have white accountability partners, people
you can turn to when you have finished researching and still have questions.
white antiracists do owe you our time, energy, and emotional bandwidth to handle
your questions and demands. We are doing our own listening and learning and are
here to help you.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people invented and
benefit from white supremacy. We do not need to demand that Black people teach
us about it, too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman",serif; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br /></span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-24986004857981275492023-09-18T06:30:00.008-07:002023-09-18T06:30:54.622-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 18<p> whitewashing</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">whitewashing is something
that happens in tv and movies a lot. It’s changing the race of a character from
books or comics, and making them white in movies and tv shows.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Sometimes we will say
that the actors had nothing to do with it, that it was the directors, writers,
and producers who are responsible, but those actors are in a position to stand
up against it. By taking a whitewashed role, they are participating in white
supremacy and taking a job from a non-white actor. Nobody makes them take that
role, and we will go to the movies or watch the shows where this happens, which
is financially supporting it, and thus, upholding it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We as consumers must
demand better from our entertainment. We speak with our dollars by not going to
see those movies or watching the shows. This is a “loss” for us, but one we
must embrace if we want movie and show-makers to do better.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">whitewashing hurts Black
actors and creators, further employs already easily-employable white actors and
creators, and upholds white supremacy. To dismantle white supremacy, we will
all need to make sacrifices. Sometimes that means quitting an acting job, or
not accepting one in the first place.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-26467861732290066222023-09-17T09:46:00.007-07:002023-09-17T09:46:48.503-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 17<p>What is Cultural Appropriation?</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This harkens back to the
idea behind digital Blackface, in that it is a person from outside a culture
using and benefitting from said culture. Usually without permission. It’s not
necessarily just participation, especially if that comes from an invitation to
join in. There is a difference.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Cultural appropriation is
white women using hairstyles Black women created, but not getting in trouble
with their workplace for it, when their Black coworkers get punished for
showing up with the same style.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">It is a white person
opening a taco stand and profiting from Mexican culture, and keeping an actual
Mexican American from being able to open their own taco stand in that
neighborhood. We see this with food, a lot. Look at the “experts” we assign in
the food world to certain cultures. Why is a white American man considered the
authority in this country on Mexican food? Why not an actual Mexican or Mexican
American?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We see it in other
industries, as well. Why is Iggy Azalea taking from Black culture and profiting
from it, and loved by society, yet actual Black women rappers are often
disparaged by white people?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Cultural appropriation
isn’t always about profiting. Sometimes it’s about taking from cultures that
aren’t ours when we haven’t been invited. It’s white women wearing bindis on
their foreheads. It’s white people burning white sage when we’ve been told time
and again that white sage is difficult to come by, and necessary for Native
American ceremonies. It’s white people having Tibetan prayer flags or tiki
statues in their homes as cute decorations. And don’t let me get started on
Halloween costumes…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people usually feel
free to do whatever we want and enjoy elements of any culture we want with
little care or thought as to the impact it might have on people from those
cultures. We like to take without giving back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Equity will sometimes
feel like a loss to us, or that we are being left out/excluded, but I like to
think of this as good manners. We’ve had our turn for a long time, of taking
and taking consequence free. It’s time for us to start doing better.</span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-48512728183379798312023-09-16T08:07:00.003-07:002023-09-16T08:07:33.146-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist: Day 16<p>Staying In Our Lane</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">You see a social media
post asking a specific group of people a question. It actually says, “Please,
only people from this group respond.” You aren’t in that group of people, but
you really want to answer anyway, what should you do? Answer: Stay in your
lane!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">You see one group of
people having a conflict with another group of people. Both are marginalized
people. You aren’t in either of those groups, but want to get involved to show
that you care and support everybody. Or point out how one group is more wrong
than the other, in your opinion. What should you do? Answer: Stay in your lane!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people are used to
having every lane be ours, with no questions asked. We need to unlearn this. We
are used to butting in and taking over conversations because it’s fun or we
really think we have something important to add to the discussion, and we never
think about how it comes across to the people with whom we are speaking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If a question is asked
and it specifically asks for white people to not engage, it’s actually
disrespectful of you to join in. It’s not reverse racism or discrimination to
be asked to sit out on a conversation, it’s just not for us, and that’s ok.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If what is happening is
an issue between two groups of marginalized people, our best response is
staying out of it, and continuing the work of dismantling white supremacy.
Doing that, ending white supremacy, will help resolve most of the issues in
this country for all marginalized groups. This is the best way to show your
support for both groups of people. But we do not need to be Budinskys and
center ourselves in an issue that ultimately has white supremacy to blame.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-3738169521760339212023-09-15T07:58:00.006-07:002023-09-15T07:58:17.882-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 15<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Black Lives Matter vs. All/Blue Lives Matter</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I know you don’t mean it
this way when you see “Black Lives Matter” in a post and respond with “all
lives matter,” I know you mean “Of course, all lives matter,” that’s your
intent. Did you know, though, that it actually comes across as “My life matters
too, don’t forget about white people.” Intent vs. impact. It’s time we stop
thinking about what we intend to say, and start thinking about how it is
received.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Remember how white is the
default in this country? Everybody knows that white lives matter. The point of
the phrase “Black lives matter,” is to point out how white is the default, and
it shouldn’t be that way. Because Black lives matter…too. The “too/also” is
silent, but that’s what the statement means.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This is another kneejerk
response we need to train ourselves out of. We have to do a lot of stopping and
thinking before responding.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And the statement “Blue
lives matter,” is absurd because there are no blue people. Blue refers to a
voluntary job some people hold. All jobs matter, right? What about ER doctors?
They’re in a dangerous job too. This is just something we have to stop doing.
The police uphold our white supremacist system and are therefore part of
whiteness, in general, and as you already know and demand, white lives matter
most in this country. They’re covered.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-80108624756920442432023-09-14T06:24:00.004-07:002023-09-14T06:24:15.403-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Our You're Racist-Day 14<p>Not All...</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“white people are the
worst. Every one of them voted for Trump, and will again this next election,”
writes a frustrated Black Twitter user, who has experienced racism their whole
life and stands to lose a lot more by a second Trump presidency than any white
person will lose. What is our automatic response to this tweet when we see it?
“I didn’t vote for Trump, I hate him! Not all white people are Trump voters,
please don’t lump us all together…” Please, please, please, we have to move on
from doing this. There are only two reasons we might do this, but they both
result in the same thing. We do this either to assure the person who made a
blanket statement that what they said is not the case, so they don’t need to
feel upset anymore. Or, we say it to distance ourselves from the guilty ones.
The result, either way, is white people further demanding our individuality,
which as we have already discussed, is actually reinforcing white supremacy. It
is active racism, and even if that is not our intent, it is the impact.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">If a blanket statement
does not apply to you, feel free to just move on from it without replying. Not
all conversations need to include us.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“Not all” responses never
come across as reassuring. They come across as demanding an exception. As if
the person who made the blanket statement should respond with, “But not you,
Jimmy/Belinda, you’re awesome. You’re one of the good ones.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">This is what I always
tell people when I see a “not all” response: Make your actions your “not all.”
Vote your not all. Love your not all. Protest your not all. Support Black
businesses your not all. Show, don’t tell.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">It’s a kneejerk
response, and it will take being conscious about it to train yourself not to do
it anymore, but it’s worth it. And while you’re at it, maybe take a moment to
think why that person made a statement the way they did. Even if not all white
people do something, enough of us do. Not all white people, but any white
person, which is why we need to work on ourselves and each other.</span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-90229472000737090462023-09-13T06:29:00.004-07:002023-09-13T06:29:10.951-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 13<p> What is Digital Blackface?</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Digital Blackface is when
white people use gifs and memes with Black people’s images. We’ve all done this
without thinking about it. The picture/gif/meme is funny, and we just want to
be part of the fun. We don’t mean anything by it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">In today’s use of social
media, gifs/memes/pictures are used as part of the actual language. Think back to
Egyptian hieroglyphs or pictographs. We actually replace part of our written
language with those images. Because of that, we are implying that the images
are ourselves at the moment, like an avatar. We are consuming the image and
making it ourselves. This is disturbing and off-putting for many Black people,
because we already have a long history of consuming Black lives for our own
purposes, with no financial compensation. It’s just further exploitation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">It's time for us to think
about this more and respect when we’re called out for it. We can do better. It
doesn’t matter if some people don’t have a problem with it. Enough people do,
and we should respect their feelings. This is one microaggression we really
should stop.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-76128129003692635132023-09-12T06:24:00.005-07:002023-09-12T06:24:27.209-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 12<p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Capitalize the “B” in Black but not the “w” in white</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Again, this might feel
unfair. Black people get to capitalize their race, so why don’t we? Isn’t it
just fair that we get to as well? Let me ask you this: Do you still claim not
to see race? Do you still insist on being treated as an individual only and not
part of a larger collective? Does the term “white community” even exist because
white is the default in this country and therefore, not truly acknowledged? All
of these are reasons why we don’t get to capitalize the “w” in white.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people have forced
Black people to be a collective, a community with a distinct culture, because
after slavery ended, they were not allowed to live in white neighborhoods.
Because of this, Black culture is strong across the country, and the people from
it deserve to have the term capitalized. white people don’t want to be a
collective, and we won’t acknowledge our whiteness or the white supremacy that
binds us, so there is no reason to capitalize the word. Maybe if we did the
work, we could earn that privilege one day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Media sites that
capitalize both words are pandering to us and media and people who capitalize
“white” but not “Black” are definitely actively racist. Keep an eye out on
social media posts for it. Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-41972482562310089312023-09-11T07:02:00.000-07:002023-09-11T07:02:00.340-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 11<p> <span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">Why Karen and other names for white people are not slurs</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I know, nobody likes to
be called names. It’s hurtful and mean. So when you are called a
Karen/honky/cracker/mayo sapien, etc., it makes you feel bad about yourself.
When Black people are called the N-word, it must make them feel bad about
themselves too, right? So, these words are definitely on equal footing.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Please re-read what I
just wrote. When you read and wrote the names above, do you way and spell the
full words for white people but use “the N-word” abbreviation? Then that
answers your question about if it’s on equal footing or not.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">white people have not
been threatened or had negative consequences from being called these names,
unless they actually did racist stuff, were called out, and had consequences
for their actions. Black people have had centuries of consequences for being called
the N-word. It’s not even comparable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Remember the discussion
earlier about prejudice vs. racism? This is part of that. white people being
called names has no systemic power behind it, but white people using the N-word
against Black people, does. It’s insulting to compare the two.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Also, this connects back
to equality vs. equity. Equality would be treating those names as the same.
Equity means sometimes we just have to deal with hurt feelings, and get over
it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;"></span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-35294459116254121232023-09-10T07:44:00.007-07:002023-09-10T07:44:58.144-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 10<p> Microaggressions</p><p>We have finished the section on "the basics" and are now beginning the section on "manners." This section will focus on a lot of the behavior we are guilty of as white people, and why we need to work on ourselves. First up, is "microaggressions."</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">You may have seen the
word and wondered what it meant, but then forgot to look it up.
Microaggressions are exactly as they sound. Small acts of aggression people
have to deal with on a constant basis. We are all guilty of doing some of these,
no matter how much we want to deny it. And one time might not be too bad, but
if you’re the 100</span><sup style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; text-indent: 0.5in;">th</sup><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"> person to do it in a month, it doesn’t matter
that you only did it once. It’s just too much.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Here are examples of some
common microaggressions:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">-Touching a Black woman’s
hair without her permission.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">-Commenting on a Black
person’s intelligence in surprise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">-Saying a Black person is
articulate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">-“No, but where are you
really from?”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">-Asking a Black person at
a store where something is without knowing if they even work there, because you
assume they work there.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">One microaggression I
think is very important for us all to work on is when a Black person tells us
about racism they have experienced and we respond along the lines of: “What?
No, really?! Maybe that person just…” “I’m sure they didn’t mean…” or other responses
expressing our disbelief in their experience and trying to explain away what
the racist person did. We don’t need to be the devil’s advocate for racism, and
expressing disbelief, even if it’s meant as a form of sympathy, still places
the burden of proof on somebody who already experienced racism. Also? Please
don’t respond to such things with your own experiences. Any discrimination you
have ever felt has nothing to do with being white, so how can it possibly
compare? Just respond with belief from the start, anything else shows that you
don’t really believe them.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-3601513464075194502023-09-09T07:07:00.005-07:002023-09-09T07:07:21.813-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 9<p> What is Race?</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Like time, holidays,
nations, and almost everything else in humanity, race is a social construct. We
made it up, because we like to categorize things and label everything possible.
We invented nationalities, ethnicities, all to distinguish one group from
another.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I must admit that this
particular topic is something I am still learning about, myself. Like me, you
probably grew up assuming race is all about pigmentation of the skin. Perhaps
that’s how it began back when Europeans wanted to find people to work for them,
unpaid, and have an easier way to distinguish who was who. Skin color was a
convenient distinction. People went from being European and African, or British
and Senegambian, to Black and white.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We also know, though,
that not all groups of people considered white today have always been
considered white. Italians and Irish are famously known in the US as not having
been considered white when they first started immigrating to this country,
until their numbers were so great that the advantage of considering them so
made admitting them to the club worth it. That had nothing to do with skin
pigmentation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We know too, that things
like the one-drop rule we invented also worked to determine who is and isn’t
considered Black. Before DNA testing, it was based on lineage. Anybody who
could be proven to have a Black ancestor was considered Black, regardless of pigmentation.
People with light skin can be considered Black, where as white people who tan
well, are still considered white, regardless of their pigmentation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">And now in the age of DNA
testing, it shows the one-drop rule to be arbitrary, as well. Somebody like me,
a white person who has a small % of African DNA, is still considered to be
white, with all the advantages that comes with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt;">All of this is
arbitrary and made up. We all know this. But when we say things like “there is
only one race, the human race,” it comes across as disingenuous, because that
platitude refuses to see us and our ancestor’s role in white supremacy. In
getting us to where we are now. It’s trying to weasel out of the work, and
people can sense that. We have to put in the work to undo all of this.</span></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-25310137285374563952023-09-08T08:20:00.000-07:002023-09-08T08:20:00.171-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 8<p> What is white culture</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">I’m going to go ahead and
stop you before you even start. I know what’s about to come out of your mouth.
It’s not Scottish dancing, your nonna’s tiramisu, or German polka. Ethnicity
and nationality are not the same as race. Yes, every white person has an ethnic
heritage we’re proud of, and that is wonderful and nobody is trying to take
that away from you, but it does not unite all white people together. Your
lutefisk does not call to me, and maybe you can’t stand the sound of bagpipes
that stir my heart. And that is totally ok!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">So, what does unite white
people in this country? What are the thoughts, customs, and social institutions
that bind us as a people? What binds Scottish, German, Italian, Greek, Irish,
and Swedish(among others) Americans? The answer is very simple, and you’re
really not going to like it, but here it is: white supremacy. white supremacy
connects all white people, and determines who is and isn’t considered white in
the entire western world. It surpasses any and all nationality or
ethnicity-based cultures. Also, please don’t come at me with the groups of
people who used to not be considered white. You’re here now, with the full
privileges whiteness grants us, so you don’t get an exemption.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Study the links below
about the different elements of white supremacy culture, and see yourself in
them. I promise you that you will. Of all the aspects of white supremacy, I
think the most pervasive and damaging to others is our insistence on individuality.
Seeing ourselves as single people and not part of a greater collective is what
keeps us from dismantling white supremacy. It’s the built-in mechanism that
keeps white supremacy from ever being dismantled. It’s our greatest hurdle to
overcome, and the reason why we’re even having this conversation in the first
place, because you’re just you, right? You’re a great person and you don’t hate
anybody, and that’s all there is to you. But what if you and I teamed up? What
if you and I and all our white family and friends and neighbors teamed up?
Suddenly we’re are a stronger group. A collective. We are mighty. We can
actually act collectively and make a change. This connects back to “white as
default.”</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;"><a href="https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/museums/files/White_Supremacy_Culture.pdf" target="_blank">white Supremacy Culture</a><br /></span></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/JohnathanPerk/status/1616975916223311872" target="_blank">15 Pillars of white supremacy by Johnathan Perkins</a><br /></p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/JohnathanPerk/status/1569129915911671814" target="_blank">6 Additional Pillars of white Supremacy By Johnathan Perkins</a><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">To dismantle white
supremacy means to destroy the culture that binds us. It means destroying the
white race, whiteness, and leaves us equal to everybody else in this country.
It sounds pretty scary, but if we remember that everybody else in this country just
wants to be treated with respect and equity, and isn’t out to “get us,” we can
see there’s nothing to fear.</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-812410151856713333.post-35921739804492447192023-09-07T06:23:00.011-07:002023-09-07T06:23:54.827-07:00Antiracism 101: So, You Just Found Out You're Racist-Day 7<p> white as Default</p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">“What is ‘white as
default?’” you may be asking right now. The world we live in in the US is white
as default. It’s the way we think in terms of white and not white. It’s “people
of color” and “people”. See how the white fell away, not even mentioned or thought
of? white people don’t think of ourselves as being white or having race or
racial issues. Racial issues are for other people, not white people. It’s being
asked what you are in a work function for racism and responding with “just a
person” or “plain” or “normal” or something along those lines. Race is
something we don’t have to think about. That is white as default.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">Why is it bad? Because it
dismisses everybody else and makes whiteness “normal” and everything else “not
normal” or “good vs. bad” etc. It means we don’t have to see ourselves as part
of a group. I’m just me, and you’re just you, but “they” are a collective.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">When white is the
default, we will never see ourselves as having a race, or being a
collective/community. We will never see it as something that needs to be fixed
because we assume everybody experiences life the way we do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; text-indent: 0.5in;">We have to learn to see
how race impacts us too, as much as every other group of people in this
country. We don’t often see our advantages; we just know they’re there. We only
remember them, it seems, when equity comes up in conversation, and then usually
it’s framed in the context of preserving it…</span></p><p><br /></p>Miss Foodie2shoeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14390583365198522335noreply@blogger.com0