sarahmichigan (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sarahmichigan) wrote2007-08-07 11:51 am
sarahmichigan) wrote2007-08-07 11:51 am
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Blogging Against Racism Week
I've seen it noted in a few places that this is "Blogging Against Racism Week."
Of course, I think Racism is Bad. And I can come up with a fistful of personal anecdotes as well as statistics to counter anyone who says that racism is a thing of the past and isn't a problem today.
But there are so many issues where I just don't know what to think. Here are some issues I'm conflicted or confused about:
-Racism and humor. What's the difference between a joke about racism and a racist joke? Who's allowed to make jokes that are racially charged? Should white people lose their jobs over making racist jokes?
-Racism and "The N Word". For the most part, only white people who are rednecks (yes, I know this is a racially charged word as well- I come from redneck stock and think I'm allowed to use it) or blatantly racist use this term with any regularity these days. Should Blacks stop using it as well? Should there be MORE use of it to diffuse the charge of the word, kind of like diffusing other epithets like "bitch" or "slut" or "dyke"?
-How to talk about race. How do we start a dialogue about racism and race without ending up in accusations, shutting people down, and making people feel like they can't talk about it at all?
Maybe some of the blog posts I'll read this week will shed some light on one or more of those issues. I'm not sure if I'll post more about the topic or not; it seems like there are plenty Guilty White Liberals posting about race already.
Of course, I think Racism is Bad. And I can come up with a fistful of personal anecdotes as well as statistics to counter anyone who says that racism is a thing of the past and isn't a problem today.
But there are so many issues where I just don't know what to think. Here are some issues I'm conflicted or confused about:
-Racism and humor. What's the difference between a joke about racism and a racist joke? Who's allowed to make jokes that are racially charged? Should white people lose their jobs over making racist jokes?
-Racism and "The N Word". For the most part, only white people who are rednecks (yes, I know this is a racially charged word as well- I come from redneck stock and think I'm allowed to use it) or blatantly racist use this term with any regularity these days. Should Blacks stop using it as well? Should there be MORE use of it to diffuse the charge of the word, kind of like diffusing other epithets like "bitch" or "slut" or "dyke"?
-How to talk about race. How do we start a dialogue about racism and race without ending up in accusations, shutting people down, and making people feel like they can't talk about it at all?
Maybe some of the blog posts I'll read this week will shed some light on one or more of those issues. I'm not sure if I'll post more about the topic or not; it seems like there are plenty Guilty White Liberals posting about race already.
no subject
Why does it seem like black men are better athletes than white men? Why are black men overrepresented in sports such as basketball and football, and white men bigger in individual sports like golf or fencing or cycling?
Part of it is class, and part is the social construction of race. Black kids may be subtly pushed into 1) team sports, and 2) sports in general, because, no, they arent smart enough to get into college based on academics, right? (sarcasm). Whereas the rich white kids are encouraged to get into academics, and individual "thinking" sports.
DNA wise, I am more similar to the black woman down the street than I am to my white roommate. There is more differentiation within a "race" than between the races. There are biological differences between sexes with hormones. (And, I piss off a lot of feminists by saying that :-)