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Originally Posted by JinnKai
It's unfortunate, isn't it? The reason the racism thread become frustrating for all was that there is a definite segment of the population (on TFP and elsewhere) who justify to themselves that racism and sexism are gone. They think that just because they don't call people niggers and make them pick the cotton or because they don't demand the bitch stay in the kitchen, that neither racism nor sexism exists anymore.
They think that just because THEIR friends are black, or just because THEY treat women with respect that all people treat blacks and women fairly. RACISM AND SEXISM ARE NOT GONE. JUST BECAUSE WE AREN'T IN 1950 DOES NOT MEAN IT DOES NOT STILL HAPPEN.
I see sexism every fucking day, and it bothers me because it happens to people I care about. You know, those people we mentioned earlier - wives, mothers and sisters. I care that they're still discriminated against, STILL told who they should be and what they should look like by the media, in 2008.
It makes sense to rationalize to yourself that sexism and racism are gone, because it allows you to continue participating in racist or sexist hierarchies, allows you to keep saying the same things you've always been saying, and it allows you to do be who you are without feeling bad about the direct effect it has on others.
I can understand justifying that "It's always been this way" and "I'm not racist or sexist so it doesn't exist", because I used to believe it too. The scary part is when you realize that it's still out there, that the things we say and do actually DO have effect on a sociological level.
To insist that what we say has no effect on others belays an obvious ignorance of sociology. Where do you think eating disorders come from?
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These are platitudes. That's what the discussion has become. People saying the same old thing over and over ... and all of it relatively empty.
This is not to say that people don't feel strongly about the subject because it's painfully obvious that they do. But where is the REAL CONSTRUCTIVE discourse?
All I have read so far is the same old back-and-forth arguing that I hear practically every day about these very subjects (men are pigs, women are bitches, certain groups of people are lazy or ignorant). But it comes across as "venting" rather than constructive.
We were just required to take a Sexual Harassment and Discrimination course at work. The focus was mainly on religious jokes in the workplace. The sad fact is, THERE ARE PEOPLE WHO HAVE TO BE REMINDED THAT WORDS CAN BE OFFENSIVE. I find this incredibly sad ... especially at a liberal arts college. I hope I am not one of these people who need to be reminded.
Despite my belief that words have no power ... I realize that people will be offended by those same words. The thing is, if you can just fully believe that the words themselves have no power, that it's a source of empowerment itself. Be offended by the intention and call it out ... but don't be offended by the words themselves.
We should not ignore history ... that is a certain path to failure ... but we should also not be crippled by history. Certainly we should continue to discuss the problems of racism, sexism, poverty, health-care, environment ...
Regardless (irregardless?
) of your stance on these and MANY other subjects, we (as intelligent human beings) should be able to have a constructive conversation on them WITHOUT resorting to rhetoric and diatribes and platitudes. Let's get to the meat of these problems and come up with innovative ways to solve them -- rather than just perpetually harping on each other.
I assume that we are all intelligent because I have read other posts that seem to indicate it to be true.
As for me ... I believe that just about every one of these SOCIAL issues can be helped by education (in the home and in school). Teach children when it's appropriate to joke about things and when it's not. We certainly don't want to live in a humorless society. We don't want "thought police" we are entirely capable of policing ourselves ... IF we are given the proper tools to do so.