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Ibby · 12-08-2012, 05:14 PM

My disagreement with Bruce's "let's all be friends cause its not all about politics" is... it is all about politics. I see the world in terms of political motivations and realities. Politics, public policy, and institutional oppression are present in every facet of modern life. So, when I'm talking to a mostly-apolitical person who more or less sits somewhere on my end of the spectrum, we can talk about music, movies, tv, the weather, idgaf, whatever. But with someone on the far end of the spectrum - I can't talk to a racist, sexist, homophobic scumbag about just about anything, because their bigotry is always relevant. It's not "oh, you're okay except when you shit on minorities, so stop doing that so much so we can hang out" - it's "you're such a shitbird, you shit on minorities, you need to stop defending your bigotry before we can talk about anything else at all."

You all need to understand that intersectionality of oppressions is a BIG DEAL, and that microagressions are a BIG DEAL. You don't have to know you're saying something wrong - microaggressing - to be doing it, and you won't necessarily always see it when other people talk, either.
Racists, sexists, bigots of all stripes, will microagress nearly constantly, in conversations seemingly unrelated to bigotry. Calling them out isn't stifling the vibrancy or strength of our community - it's promoting it.
Why do you think The Cellar is so overwhelmingly populated by white people?
Why is making this a safe space for GSM people less important than making it a safe space for bigotry?
Why is having bigoted conservatives more important to the cellar - their growing absence is lamented more in this thread and across the board - than having more than a handful of PoC, more than a few queers, more participation from any and every minority group or oppressed people?
There are more points of view and diversity of opinion than "white liberal" and "white conservative". Where are all the people boo-hooing over the fact that we have way fewer active PoC than active conservatives?

12-08-2012, 05:14 PM	#146
Ibby erika Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: "the high up north" Posts: 6,127	My disagreement with Bruce's "let's all be friends cause its not all about politics" is... it is all about politics. I see the world in terms of political motivations and realities. Politics, public policy, and institutional oppression are present in every facet of modern life. So, when I'm talking to a mostly-apolitical person who more or less sits somewhere on my end of the spectrum, we can talk about music, movies, tv, the weather, idgaf, whatever. But with someone on the far end of the spectrum - I can't talk to a racist, sexist, homophobic scumbag about just about anything, because their bigotry is always relevant. It's not "oh, you're okay except when you shit on minorities, so stop doing that so much so we can hang out" - it's "you're such a shitbird, you shit on minorities, you need to stop defending your bigotry before we can talk about anything else at all." You all need to understand that intersectionality of oppressions is a BIG DEAL, and that microagressions are a BIG DEAL. You don't have to know you're saying something wrong - microaggressing - to be doing it, and you won't necessarily always see it when other people talk, either. Racists, sexists, bigots of all stripes, will microagress nearly constantly, in conversations seemingly unrelated to bigotry. Calling them out isn't stifling the vibrancy or strength of our community - it's promoting it. Why do you think The Cellar is so overwhelmingly populated by white people? Why is making this a safe space for GSM people less important than making it a safe space for bigotry? Why is having bigoted conservatives more important to the cellar - their growing absence is lamented more in this thread and across the board - than having more than a handful of PoC, more than a few queers, more participation from any and every minority group or oppressed people? There are more points of view and diversity of opinion than "white liberal" and "white conservative". Where are all the people boo-hooing over the fact that we have way fewer active PoC than active conservatives? __________________ not really back, you didn't see me, i was never here shhhhhh