“Please tell me, do you go to NASA and bombard the physicists and engineers with dictionary definitions like “rocket” or “calculus”? No, of course not. Because “conventional” definitions of rocket or calculus do absolutely nothing for them in their use of calculus to build rockets. Conventional is in quotes there because by “conventional” you really mean “the loose definition I learned simply by existing as a person in society”...what you are literally saying here is “Regarding any other science I’m willing to take a professional’s word for it, but social justice and sociology? Nah. I’m gonna just assume that the common person knows way more about fundamental ideas than the professionals.”
—privilegetoengtranslationservice.tumblr.com on folks who use dictionary definitions of terms like racism
So in working on a project and I need help finding a picture of a girl who makes a post on Facebook about how things would be different if she were in charge. Things like making segregation legal and separating homosexuals in a sort of prison camp. That’s only the tip of the iceberg and that screenshot would help me out a ton with this project.
“And of course its not even realistic. Since when have black people been able to speak foreign languages? And shouldn't Sulu have crashed the ship into a quasar by now?”
—NEWSFLASH: ANN COULTER IS REALLY REALLY RACIST (Ann Coulter Walks Out of Star Trek, Claims ‘Too Many Minorities’)
(UPDATE: since someone thought I might be confused, yes, of course I am aware this is satire.)
“Today I\'m thinking about how different definitions and different understandings of context can make communication impossible. If you believe in objectivity or neutrality, & that you have access to it, then you simply cannot hear people outside your context. To define one\'s own context as contextless is an act of imperialism and domination, as is asserting one\'s own position in another\'s context. You don\'t get to define your position in relation to another context, ESPECIALLY if your position is one of historical or cultural power. A white person cannot say \"I\'m not racist.\" Your context makes racism invisible to you. A straight person cannot say \"I\'m not homophobic.\" Discarding the idea that we have access to objectivity is a first step toward being able to listen to others and hear what they say. In case you missed it yesterday, it seems a good time to point to an old post. \"Hi. My name is Gabe and… I\'m racist.\”
—a series of tweets by malakhgabriel [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
Link in last tweet: “Hi. My name is Gabe and… I’m racist” on malakhgabriel.net
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I highly recommend reading the post Gabe linked, as well. It’s an extremely cogent exploration of “modern racism” and how it’s as much about pervasive unconscious reactions — our basic assumptions about the world around us and about other people — and how we justify those to ourselves, how we feel threatened when we have that held up for scrutiny.
That whole “context” thing that Gabe is talking about? Privilege is just a small part of that. We are shaped by our environments, and we develop filters based on assumptions upheld by our own experiences. Our context is our filter, and anything that doesn’t fit with our previous experiences and with our deep need to maintain a self-conception of being a fundamentally good person doesn’t get ignored — it never gets perceived in the first place.
Really, Abrams? (Or, Why I Was Extremely Disappointed in Star Trek: Into Darkness)
I want to start this post off by saying- I love Star Trek. I was one of those fans who had never really had the chance to watch it as a kid- my parents weren’t into the series, and I wasn’t allowed a lot of TV time. It was something that was in the periphery of my cultural awareness. Four years ago, I was home from college, and my parents (who hate going to the movies) organized my family to go see the Star Trek reboot. I went in having no idea what to expect. I was completely blown away. I was crying within the first five minutes of the movie, I could feel for both young Kirk and Spock, and the movie was visually stunning. I returned the next day, and watched the movie by myself, something I repeated about twice a month until it was out of theaters.
I fell into this glorious fandom filled with intelligent fans that created beautiful works of fiction and art all based on these characters. I met sevenpoints, who influenced my writing (she’s so much better than me, seriously, go read her stuff) and who became one of my closest friends. Man, if you weren’t around for the party posts on ONTD_startrek, I feel bad for you. Those were hilarious and so much fun (we invented the term GQMFs, just saying). In short- the summer of 09, which was gearing up to be a miserable one for me, was saved by this amazing group of people located all over the world, brought together by Abram’s reboot of the trek franchise. So I’m not just some quasi-fan who wasn’t really into the series. STXI was a HUGE part of my life and so I was so excited to see the continuation of that universe.
So yesterday night taught me something.
Many privileged kids have been coddled and been taught they’re gold they’re whole life. The moment they’re held accountable for something, they start trying to apologize, tell me they were joking, etc. But remember, I’m not here to coddle you. I’m glad that you’re apologizing, but I’m not gonna give you that free pass. I’m sorry your privileged ass hasn’t been held accountable for the shit you say, but I’m not here for that.
“I wish people wouldn’t just see me as the Asian girl who beats everyone up, or the Asian girl with no emotion. People see Julia Roberts or Sandra Bullock in a romantic comedy, but not me. You add race to it, and it became, ‘Well, she’s too Asian’, or, ‘She’s too American’. I kind of got pushed out of both categories. It’s a very strange place to be. You’re not Asian enough and then you’re not American enough, so it gets really frustrating.”
—Lucy Liu
“And really, “nerd” just means “someone who loves contemporary art”, and look at that: loving art isn’t something you do, it’s something you are.”
—JF Sargent - Is Nerd Racism Real? | Geeky Universe
- I liked that quote, and the rest of the Interview, which is mostly a discussion of racist responses to white characters being played by non-white actors in movie adaptations of comic properties. I’m great with movies changing things, from Jenny Olson to black Heimdall, I like that someone it trying to make another person feel welcome in a world where people like to erect barriers and boarders because is superficial differences between people. Anyway, read the interview.
my law class consists of the worst people ever, so apparently, according to my law class:
- labeling muslims as terrorists is totally funny
- it’s discriminatory for gay people to have their own bars / parades which celebrates their sexuality and creates a safe space in a society that basically excludes them
- rape isn’t that bad, plus it’s usually the victim’s fault if she went out late that night/ dressed provocatively
- rape is what’s gonna happen when you go to a gay bar because TESTOSTERONE (i’m not joking, my teacher seriously said this)
- transwomen are not really women
- it’s racist to suggest that black people/ poc should have role models that are poc to represent them
i’m surprised i didn’t start ripping my hair out
but seriously, this is my LAW class, one day, some people in my class may choose law as a profession, or be in positions of power,
and that’s a very disturbing thought
A Name Change for the Redskins: Unpopular, Insufficient, and Necessary
theatlantic.comChanging the NFL franchise’s name won’t go over well with diehard fans, nor will it reverse American history. But there’s no excuse for continuing to commercialize a racial slur.
On the 59th anniversary of Brown V. Board (I), I’m thinking about de facto residential segregation, which leads to segregation in our schools. I’m thinking about white flight—both in terms of fleeing the city to suburbs and fleeing the public school system to private schools. I’m thinking about schools being closed across the country that disproportionately affect blacks and Latin@s. What are you thinking about?
