What I did instead of folding my laundry.
[clutter: slightly drunk, 230a.] racism & sexism
some gross white dude asked if he could “ask me something” as i was walking to the BART with a friend and i said no.
later:
i was at a taco truck a couple blocks from my house w/ some friends earlier, we were waiting for our order, some white guy smiles at me and i don’t smile back. he makes…
[You Can Click on This Link and Ask that the Philly Trans-Health Conference Pull Ryan Cassata from Their Keynote Speakers] white privilege ALERT!
Here is what I sent:
To Whom it May Concern:
I am appalled that you have Ryan Cassata as a keynote speaker in light of recent events where he has denied that issues like white privilege, and racism in general, exist. He has been called out by fellow transmen and allies to take accountability for his actions and words said against POC, but has of yet to take responsibility. I do not think he is a good candidate to speak to trans*youth, seeing as how he currently lacks the ability to acknowledge the power dynamics and oppressive forces that affect underprivileged trans*folk (i.e. those who are not upper white middle class). I will not be attending your conference because of this. I do not feel safe in an environment where things like racism and classism are not, and will not be, openly addressed. One of the goals of this conference is to make an impact on the community, but by having him as a key note speaker and not asking him to take accountability for what he has said only perpetuates racism and classism. I will be appalled if you let his behavior go unexcused, and if that is the case will let others know that the Philly Trans Health Conference is not a safe space for those of us who are not white and upper-middle class.
Sincerely,
Micah
[Knowing Coves: and im gonna write more about this later] OWS & the missing "minorities."
so much of this right now. i have to say, being in the financial district nearly everyday, visiting #OWS, supporting the poc/indigeneous/native communities that are attempting to make headway, i am deeply concerned. additionally, what safety protocol is there and what are the measures that choose who facilitates, leads chants, receives exposure? what lived experiences and needs are taken into account? how are queer and trans pocs, disabled pocs, undocumented pocs, womyn of color, supported with understanding of a perennial landscape of vulnerability and violence that impacts those communities with police brutality, institutional pillaging?
to see #OWS as a revolutionary anomoly, a last judgement as the barometer to scale who is “really political” essentializes the very hybrid of approaches to justice and liberation work that poc, native, indigenous people have been doing through out history. an example which i share on facebook: note the white assigned at birth male legal observer ran over by a police scooter or the incidents where white assigned at birth (read: straight, skinny, attractive to white straight men) women are flagrantly attacked. my disabled brown transgender ass is going to consider this in 2 ways— 1) if they will maul over privileged people, then people of multiple identities that challenge the mainstream empire is surely in danger at #OWS. what resources & support systemically can be harnessed for impacted on multiple levels versus the aforementioned above? 2) white people and specifically, the white woman demographic always needs saving in the racist elite heteropatriarchal script of this country, so hence #ows is a valid call to action. women of color and trans people of color, migrant workers and disabled people of color face accelerated violence everyday, some so far as murder and modern day slavery, but those are not the valuable amerikkkan narratives that fuel the white diatribe of saviorism in radical and progressive movements.
where are the “minorities.” they are doing a number of things all at once and many are organizing/healing/educating/sustaining/making liberation too. they are cooking your fancy food while they are forced to starve or limited by food deserts but grow urban gardens nonetheless, cleaning your houses and businesses, taking care of your children, incarcerated, unable to access housing, bombarded by ableist inaccessible buildings- chemicals- cognitive expectations, methodically shamed for their bodies & voices, growing your food exposed to chemicals, fighting for land rights still, working the streets, threatened by subhuman treatment even in employment or academia, being soldiers for wars b/c of limited financial resources, facing severe body dysphoria, being attacked by government-sanctioned raids, in devastating debt by system that was founded and flourished by white straight skinny christian middleclass. perhaps, people aren’t aware of the full and marvelous wealth of political struggle/landmarks by various POC and oppressed communities despite all of these obstacles, this is clearly a strategic mainstream oversight.
though i feel this way, i find that #ows is important but has to be under scrutiny for improvement and cannot be narrowly thwarted as the primary mode of political upheaval. many actions, protests, healing work, spiritual work, justice work have happened prior that led up to this and led up to initiatives that may not be getting any exposure but have pivotal change. MTV/twitter coverage doesn’t determine how political viable paths to dismantling injustice. we all have to be accountable to that and see that that work is compassionate and sustainable as well.
but at this point i am convinced: Occupy Wall Street is not a revolutionary movement. SlutWalk is not a revolutionary movement. There might be revolutionary elements, but fundamentally, these movements are about retaining and…
"For some the idea that people of colour would and have rejected Whiteness is shocking simply because Whiteness has been constructed as benign instead of the cancerous infection that it is. There exists no group of people of colour who have not been adversely effected by the proliferation of Whiteness and though we have been forced to adapt, it does not mean that we accept a status of conquered beings. It is not racist to openly attack Whiteness; it is self preservation. The defense aspect is often over looked in order to push the idea that POC are racist against Whites, though Whiteness is guilty of unspeakable crimes. The very first step to emancipation is to name and know your oppressor and if in the process some feelings are hurt, is far less painful than living through marginalization and erasure. Often times Christianity is used to sugar coat the true intent. Even as a Christian, I can recognize that when coupled with Whiteness that Christianity is not a message of peace but a declaration of war. A simple look through history will prove that Christianity has been used to specifically to enforce docility. When missionaries bring the so-called word to people of colour, it always comes from a position of educating the savages, rather than sharing an experience. It functions as a mechanism to destroy other religious beliefs, which often serve to loosen the ties that bind one to culture."
