determined
janetmiles directed my attention to a large fuss about racism, which has boiled all over LiveJournal and beyond. A summary of the instigation and ensuing mayhem is here. I meant to explore the whole situation thoroughly, I really did. But all I could think was, "This is a stupid argument. This is a textbook example of how not to talk about race issues. This is a waste of my time." I just couldn't see any good coming out of it, and substantial harm already has -- feelings hurt, journals closed, and dire threats flung by people who really should have a firmer grip on their professional bearing. So after about ten minutes, I quit reading and went off to do other things.I woke up with this idea fizzing in my brain. I am a writer, a reviewer, an editor, a teacher. I am going to do something totally different.
For those who need it, here are some basic resources about race issues. I'm taking a turn at "Racism 101" because brown-skinned folks get tired of it.
"Racism - Introduction" (This is the first in an extensive series of essays on race relations, including some matched pro/con pairs.)
Race, Racism, and the Law (from a law school)
"Racism - Getting to Basics" (from a blog about Middle Eastern sociopolitical meltdowns and fallout)
How to Help Stop Racism (from the Stop Hate website)
Teaching Tolerance (extensive resources for parents, teachers, teens, and children)
These are some of my favorite "canon" poets of color:
Alice Walker
Basho
Langston Hughes
Leslie Marmon Silko
Lorna Dee Cervantes
Paula Gunn Allen
Phillis Wheatley
Robert Hayden
Rumi
Zora Neale Hurston
These are some poets of color on Poetry Blog Rankings:
Antonio G. Fernandez
Janeya
Jon Sanders
Jy Obadele
Kamil
These are some of my favorite writers whose ethnic background and experience has influenced their work:
Booker T. Washington
browngirlFrederick Douglass
Gloria Anzaldua
haikujaguarJohn (Fire) Lame Deer
Joy Harjo
Octavia Butler
Sandra Cisneros
Sequoya
Sojourner Truth
These are some talented ethnic artists:
Aaron Douglas
Claude Clark
haikujaguarHayao Miyazaki
Katsushika Hokusai
Kevin Red Star
Marcos Pavon Estrada
Ruben Manuel Guerra
therebirthofmeWilliam Barak
Me and You
The anthology Triangulations: Taking Flight contains one of my short stories in which all of the characters have brown skin; "Peacock Hour" takes place in the Whispering Sands desert. newWitch magazine (issue #15) published my short story "Peaches from the Tree of Heaven," which is not about racism, but rather about Chinese and Chinese-American cultures and family planning. Click the "poem" tag in the right sidebar for poetry examples; I've posted a variety of those on this blog. If people wish to discuss how well (or poorly) I presented ethnic characters and concepts, that's welcome as long as it stays civil and you can support your arguments with citations from the text. Quality feedback aids targeting.
If you are a writer or artist of color, and I haven't already listed you, and you would like to present your work to an audience rich in smart sensible people who like literature and artwork -- send me a link. If I get more than a few in replies here, I can pull them into a separate post later.
I disapprove of racism wholeheartedly. I've experienced a few incidents of it directed at me. I did not like it. I would not want to be stuck with it every day. I do not want anyone else to be stuck with it either. Racism is a disgraceful waste of human potential based on an atavistic instinct that is unseemly in sentient beings. This is what the Universe wanted me to do about it today. I've been working on this post for about two hours. This feels like time well spent.
Hmm...
February 2 2009, 23:38:18 UTC 12 years ago
The dicey part is comparisons of subjective or objective damage quotient. Sometimes those are useful too, but you have to be really careful not to frame it in way that trivializes anyone's misery. Some of the most useful discourse on cross-genre oppression comes from people who fit multiple categories; for example, black Lesbians can examine how much impact they've had from being black, being female, and being homosexual. In fact, that was a vital part of the history of the civil rights and feminist movements for a while. I've had similar conversations with Pagans who also had some other oppressive feature.
It can lead to some interesting discussions when a brick's been pitched through the window and nobody's sure whether it was aimed at the Pagans, the gays, or the socialists in the house because it was unlabeled.
Re: Hmm...
February 3 2009, 02:58:43 UTC 12 years ago
It IS really hard to keep on talking when any and all of your own experiences are dismissed out of hand as minor and insignificant, just because of your skin color.
Re: Hmm...
February 3 2009, 03:05:25 UTC 12 years ago
That generally indicates that you are talking with an asshole, and should go find someone decent to discuss the topic. This is very advanced sociodynamic material, and most people will handle it badly. If your background includes multiple layers of experience and/or study, that helps.
But if you never talk about the hard stuff, it never gets solved. Much useful information about dismantling this nonsense comes when you look at the different iterations together ... it's like the way looking at a shark and a dolphin will tell you about what kind of features are ideal for an ocean predator, where the strengths and weaknesses are similar or different.
Re: Hmm...
February 3 2009, 06:19:39 UTC 12 years ago
Knowing this doesn't make it easier to talk to them at that moment, of course (and sometimes that depth of hurt and anger and even fear stretches out that moment to years).
I think this is one of the things that makes this topic so complex and hard to deal with. Unlike one's birth religion, you can't choose to escape your skin color. And I've seen people heal from hurts done to them in the name of their birth religion only after escaping contact with it for years.