Like when I say ‘white people need to talk to bigots because bigots don’t listen to minorities’ I did not say ‘and it will be easy and fun’.
I know it’s easier to be like ~boo hooo the world is so evil and there’s nothing I can dooo~ but it’s statistically and experientially understood, just by fucking 3rd grade logic, that a bigot will be less amenable towards the subject of their bigotry.
Bigots don’t just ~not like~ minorities- they don’t think we’re human. It’s not about whether they agree with you or not in the moment. Like, pause.
Understand this:
Calls to action for white people to oppose bigotry are calls for white people to position themselves as opposition. THEY ARE NOT CALLS FOR ~SUCCESSFUL DEBATE~
Do not think you are expected nor are you likely to just go around arguing with bigots and they’ll go ‘I agree with you because you’re white!’.
Your job is to be sandpaper.
Every time they open their mouths to make a bigoted joke, or a bigoted remark, or post their shitty bigoted opinion online, you grate against them.
Your job is to make it hard to be a bigot or a fascist. Your job is to ostracize them. Your job is to speak over them the way they love to speak over minorities. Your job is to make it difficult, lonely, annoying, stressful and unwelcome to be a bigot.
When you are white and silent, You are making it easy. You are just letting it happen.
When minorities speak up for themselves, they are in danger, and the bigot just writes off our arguments as the chattering of ‘lessers’.
You, white people, whether you think so or not, are their peers.
Specifically those of you who look and talk like, to an outside observation, your average white american.
Bigots think you all think like them, but are too scared to say it. That, or you’re too much of a coward to stop them.
YOUR JOB IS TO PUSH BACK AND PROVE THEM WRONG.
YOUR JOB IS TO SEPARATE THEM FROM THEIR OWN COMMUNITY AT LARGE.
There are devils among you and if you want to stop being associated with them then fucking prove it. You’re pretty much the only people who can.
i taught swim lessons and preschool, do y’all wanna hear the most ridiculous white kid names i’ve ever seen?
i’ve met at least a dozen children named some form of “jackson” but the best ones were “jaxon” and “jakson”
a parent who i really liked named her son “jaycob” because she was worried people wouldn’t pronounce it correctly. when someone accidentally spelled it “jacob” she would loudly and obnoxiously ask “WHO’S JAH-KOBE?”
two siblings named “thor” and “tiara”
i once had a classroom with four girls named “brooklyn”
if you sent me a list of popular boy names, i could guarantee i’ve met every single one of them
twin girls named paisley and brinley
a girl named reader
a boy named rocko
keighleey
kayde
kolten
if it can start with a “k” instead of a “c” i have met that child
brittalynn
i taught a swim class with three girls named “london” but only one of them was spelled “lundon” and i know my boss did that to me on purpose
a couple named all their kids after places in arizona: tatum, payson, and hayden
and speaking of hayden, i’ve seen: haydon, heighden, and heydon
according to some white people, there are sixteen different ways to spell mckenzie
my opinions on racism will always be limited as I’m from a position of white privilege, so whilst it’s so important to call out racial inequality and oppression when I see it, it’s also important for me to recognise that my voice should not shout over those who have actually experienced racism and have a far better understanding of how it operates then I ever will
white people are racist by default (in the united states as well as other countries). are you white? congrats, you’re racist, and here’s the explanation:
you grew up in a racist society -> you were socialized to be racist thanks to racism being a dominant ideology -> you benefit from racism -> you’re racist no matter how much u think you’re not.
unlearning it is going to be a constant battle and u will never unlearn it fully. accept this. it is ingrained in you as a result of your upbringing and the media you’ve consumed. the sooner you come to terms with your own racism, the sooner u can better yourself. recognize the problem in yourself instead of setting yourself apart from those “other” white people.
I fux heavy with the White people who keep putting this post on my dash
“Two other people took my picture before you, so I was already popular.”
I know that some people said in the comments that this outfit was culturally appropriative, but just remember that you don’t know that someone isn’t a POC or biracial just by looking at them. Don’t assume other people’s races.
^ My immediate reaction was to be upset by this photo because, I’m sorry, I’m just so fucking sick of people stealing Asian outfits and making them cool or trendy. But then I thought that maybe she’s a mixed kid. If not, there’s a problem here, though.
Hi. I’m actually Japanese. Most of us LIKE when people find beauty in our culture. As long as nobody is disrespecting us or making a mockery of us, then there isn’t a problem, and if you think there is, then it seems that you are in favor of cultural segregation and that is causing more harm than good.
When I was in Japan, there were a lot of places where you could get done up in a kimono or the male equivalent and have your picture taken. No one cares.
Most Korean people I know are pretty delighted when foreigners wear hanbok, in a “oh, you are appreciating our culture! you look good in that” way. I have never actually heard or heard of people reacting negatively to non-Korean people wearing traditional Korean clothes, unless they were racist to begin with and would have objected to foreigners regardless of what they were wearing.
‘Appropriation’ is, I think, only appropriation when either it is done in a blatantly disrespectful way, or if the group whose clothes (etc) are being adopted is culturally marginalized to the degree where they themselves face discrimination when they wear those things.
Korean people, afaik, don’t give a fuck. When foreigners visit and wear our clothes, it’s in good fun by people who are usually appreciative of the aesthetic qualities of what they’re donning, and also because we ourselves have never faced discrimination for our nationality or traditional dress.
uhhh, basically, intent matters, context matters, people within the same community often have radically different ideas of what’s okay. But you know, I think the only Koreans I know who’d potentially care are the American-raised ones on liberal, activisty college campuses who are extremely well versed in the liberal, activisty language and rulebook.
Thank you!!
I also think it makes a difference in that the clothing is, you know, the actual thing and not some vaguely exotic knock-off like most people do with native american clothing. Like this is a legit, actual Kimono. There’s nothing really in the culture OF kimono that has rules about who wears this sort of thing when. Like…kimono literally means “thing you wear”. -shrug-
Bolded some of the things that stood out the most to me.
When foreign women come to India we give them pottus and sarees and teach them how to wear them.
Please stop speaking for us, SJWs.
There is a huge difference between wearing an item known for its religious or social significance (for example–a Plains headdress), and wearing something that is just a general item of clothing (like kimono).
If you’re wearing it to sexualize it (ie: “sexy kimono” in the fetish scene) or to mock its origin (ie: “sexy geisha Halloween costume!”), then that’s inappropriate. But wearing a kimono in good faith–say to a cherry blossom festival–isn’t in any way cultural appropriation, it’s cultural appreciation.
Like, I’m Dominican, and when people want to buy Mascaras de Carnaval, or learn to dance merengue or bachata, it’s not a bad thing.
Steel Phoenix Studios 