Discussion: How’s your privilege today? February 27, 2009

I’m not sure how successful this exercise will be, since I think only 8 people follow my blog, but humour me.

We are all marginalized and privileged in some ways. Often we speak about our sites of oppression more than our privileges. This does a disservice to social justice because if we truly want equity/equality, we must know all of our relationships to power, including the ways in which we are awarded privilege. Acknowledgement is key, because our privileges allow us to purposefully not see the ways in which we are complicit in oppression. 

How did you exercise your privilege today? How did you act upon it? What were the ways in which you receieved unearned comfort? No matter how big or small, consequential or inconsequential you think it might have been, how has your privilege come to light today?

Today, I walked up several flights of stairs and thought it was an inconvenience because there was no elevator in the building. It wasn’t until I reached the top (ranting about how “out of breath” I was) that I realized this was an accessibility issue. Someone who cannot use stairs due to a disability is being systemically denied access, and that I was systemically being granted access to a building because I am physically able-bodied. Additionally, I had a class (hooray, academic privilege) today in the basement of a building, and it never occurred to me to check where the elevators were (if they exist) because I had always taken the stairs. 

How about you?

When do women of colour get to be angry? February 24, 2009

This is a tired, old post that I’ve written about with respect to tone, and that so many before me have written about. Hey, what’s another one to add to the pile? I’m talking mainly about the relationship between WOC and white women in feminist spaces, but I know it applies elsewhere.

Depending on the race, the anger of women of colour is seen as inappropriate because it is either “unbecoming”/”unladylike”, or “demasculating.” I don’t know. At this point, I don’t care about the different ways WOC anger is characterized because it boils down to one thing: we’re apparently supposed to never be angry at racism, especially when we are in anti-racist and/or feminist spaces.

Too many times, a woman of colour will not come forward in a feminist space when she feels racism because she anticipates that it means putting herself in a crossfire between other women of colour and white women in the space. Too many times, she will have no avenues available to her to speak about her experience and get real justice, through acknowledgement that she has experienced racism and dedication to finding solutions. Too many times, she will leave and never come back. Too many times, she will not be able to claim “feminist” as hers, because of all the hurt that word has caused. Too many times, a woman of colour will stay silent, sit on her anger, and let it boil inside until it burns her and only her.

She does this because she knows the danger of speaking. She has shown her anger before, and it has never been received with the seriousness it deserves. It’s been met with hostility, escalating hostility. It is tiring to speak, every day, all the time, against people she is supposed to be working in solidarity with. So, she makes a choice. “Which will hurt me the least? Speaking, or not speaking?” If she speaks, will she be listened? If she speaks, she will have to engage continually with people who are perpetuating racism. If she doesn’t speak, she has the lovely option of it digging itself into her insides and festering, but at least this way no one will cry at her like a sad puppy and call her violent.

Too many times, she will choose not to say anything, because she is taught her anger is illegitimate. “If everyone else finds a problem with it, maybe what I’m saying is wrong?” Too many times, she will choose not to say anything, because it is exhausting to know that other people think her anger is illegitimate. 

Why are women of colour not allowed ownership of our feelings, our emotions, and our anger? Why can’t we be angry when someone says or does something racist in a feminist or anti-racist space? Why must it turn into how our anger is negatively affecting the emotions of everyone else? “You’re bringing the atmosphere down” or, my personal favourite, “you’re bringing a lot of negativity into this space and it’s not constructive.”

When do women of colour get to be angry? When do we get to say that racism and sexism is being perpetrated against us in a space, and not have to do it in “calm” and “rational” manner before our supposed white “allies” listen to us, and take us seriously, without getting defensive? Why do we have little right to our emotions? Racism and sexism make me furious. Must I tilt my head to the side and say, “oh, how quaint that you think that” when someone says, “oh, yeah, I know your people have a real problem with violence against women”?

I don’t have any solid answers for those questions. (Except the last one. I have a definite answer for that. Hint: it’s “no.”) I think that there need to be more WOC-headed and WOC-centric spaces, online and offline, where we can show as much goddamn anger as we want without having to justify our emotions. I like those. Those are good. They need to multiply and be angry. Often, if we don’t release that anger, and use the releasing of our anger as a means of healing ourselves, we burn out real fast.

Anyone reading who knows me offline (ahem, k), this post is, unhappily, not about today (yesterday?), but applies.

Article: N.B. parents outraged by race-based Grade 4 assignment February 18, 2009

This is really, really troubling. You can find a copy of the assignment at the link.

The assignment for the Grade 4 students at École Mont-Carmel in Ste-Marie-de-Kent was based on the notion that the planet was about to explode.

The students had three spaces in a rocket ship and they had to decide whom to save among an Acadian francophone, a Chinese person, a black African, an English person and an aboriginal person. The assignment also included images representing each of the different ethnic groups that they could choose to save.

Because WordPress ate my entire analysis, let me just reiterate the fuckedupness of this assignment. These children are being graded on who deserves to live. Maybe my French is rusty, but I’m quite certain the only details they are given is ethnicity/race, and language. Those are the only factors in deciding who gets to live. What’s that? Run that by you again? They have to pass judgment on who is worthy to live based on their ethnicity and language.

Who on Earth thought that this was an appropriate school assignment for 10-11 year olds (hell, anyone!)? At first, I thought, “Perhaps it’s a trick question and the kids are supposed to say ‘OH HELL NO’ and not do the assignment” and then I laughed uncomfortably. Fourth graders, as much as I would like to give them props, are most likely not able to verbalize their thoughts on racism for an assignment.  

I imagine myself in the fourth grade, and even though I was the most brilliant person in the world then (haw haw), I would never have been able to articulate why or why not this assignment made me feel hurt. In fact, I probably would have selected the English and the Acadian francophone because I was being taught in school that those were “real” Canadians.

Exactly what was the purpose of this homework? What was it trying to teach? What was it trying to achieve? What was the children supposed to get out of it, other than to teach them that everyone is different, and that some people are worth more than others? It was government approved, too. Is this what the school board thought was integrating anti-racism into the school curriculum meant?

Bernice Ryan, the school’s principal, said she has listened to Lomax’s concerns, but feels the exercise is a good one, as it is intended to show the students how to be respectful to all groups.

“Children would say, ‘Well, we don’t want to make any decision so we kept everyone here on the planet.’ Or some of the students would say, ‘Well, we’ve chosen to keep the three main ethnical groups in our community, which is English, French and Amerindian, because of being able to communicate,’” she said.

Face, meet palm. You’ll get to know each other very well.

Women of Colour Carnival at Tell It WOC Speak February 16, 2009

The 1st Women of Colour Carnival is up at Tell It WOC Speak.

This type of blogging carnival is so important in the face of women of colour who are constantly being silenced and demanded to justify their existence both on the Internet and off. I hope that I can contribute to future carnivals, and I encourage any women of colour reading to contribute as well! 

Take a read. It’s wonderful. Thank you, Renee, for organizing it.

Justice for Indigenous Women February 14, 2009

I’ve written several pieces about the disproportionate murder and missing cases of Native women in Canada, and each time, I find myself staring at a blank page for at least an hour, or erasing what I’ve written, rewording, and starting over. How do I start this post? How do I write it effectively, and not do injustice? I could easily not write about the hundreds of missing or murdered Native women, because I am non-Native and a Canadian citizen. I am, in short, on the privileged end of the colonial project, even if I am otherwise oppressed.

This is a part of the problem. Here’s a clip from the film, Stolen Sisters. 

Aboriginal women are constantly going missing, being murdered, and the rest of Canada sleeps soundly while mothers, daughters, sisters, aunts, cousins, nieces, friends, are facing incredible amounts of violence disproportionate to non-Native women. The responsibility, then, falls upon Native communities to solve all the problems of Canadian colonialism, while I and the next non-Native sleeps. There are hundreds of unresolved missing and murder cases of Native women in Canada alone. They are mostly forgotten by larger Canadian society, erased, and invisible to mainstream eyes because Indigenous women are racialized as disposable.

Imagine that. An entire community is seen as disposable. 

This has to do with many things, not limited to racism. Colonialism, sexism, racism, classism, and all sorts of interlocking oppressions are at work. As most of us know, the media plays an important role in influencing people’s opinions and attitudes towards each other and society. Most of the missing indigenous women are characterized in the media as drug addicts, alcoholics, and sex workers. While it is true that the genocide of Aboriginal cultures and people has led to disproportionate amounts of violence, alcoholism, and drug abuse, this is not all that these women are. Interestingly (in that ‘oh gawd’ way), as soon as it is revealed that a woman is a sex worker, she apparently no longer has any legitimacy as a human. 

Let’s use a high-profile case as an example.

Open up your favourite search engine. Search for “Robert Pickton.” Open a few of the pages you find, though be warned they are probably going to have some horrific descriptions. Robert Pickton is/was a serial killer in British Columbia who kidnapped and murdered women he thought were disposable. They were almost all sex workers, and they were predominantly Native. Hit CTRL + F (or your Find equivalent) on these pages and look for “indigenous”, “Aboriginal”, or “Native.” How often will you find these words? Next try “sex worker”, “drug”, and even “prostitute.”

I don’t know what you’ll find, but I can make an unimaginative guess. You will find little mention that any of these women are Native. These women, then, are in no way connected to the epidemic of vanishing Indigenous women? All I can ever ask is, why? Why are the lives of Indigenous women seen as less valuable? Particularly Indigenous women? The police and government are generally apathetic about solving and pursuing these cases. Why? Why must these cases stack up?

Tomorrow, like every February 14, No More Silence is organizing cross-country rallies and marches to honour missing and murdered Native women, to bring awareness that this is a major problem, to seek justice for Native women and their communities, and to let Native women know that they are loved and valued.

A short word to my fellow women of colour February 10, 2009

They spit in our faces, both figuratively and literally, when we challenge their undeserved comfort on our backs, and all we can do is pick up. Even when they say they are allies, all we can do is pick up and fight it and survive.

Keep fighting. Don’t give up today, tomorrow, or the next day. You are not alone.

Toronto: Volunteers needed for No More Silence Feb. 14 February 10, 2009

– please forward widely –

Dear friends,

The Fourth Annual Rally and March for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (details below) is just days away and we are in need of some extra help. 

*help out at the rally * (marshalling, distributing information, etc.): those able to help at the actual event can meet up at 11:00am at the University of Toronto Centre for Women and Trans People; or identify yourself to organizers at the event.

*help cook for the feast*: gather at the University of Toronto Centre for Women and Trans People anytime after 11am to help cook and set-up for the feast. Feel free to bring something to share at the feast.

*donate* – although we have been able to run this event with few costs, we are seeking donations to help cover transportation costs for those coming to the event (this year speakers are planning to attend from Six Nations; we are also providing some TTC tokens for those attending the event).

*spread the word* – to members of your communities, friends, families, lovers, co-workers, members of the media. The call-out is pasted below, the poster is attached.

for more information, email nomoresilence@riseup.net

*FOURTH ANNUAL RALLY FOR OUR MISSING SISTERS*

Stop impunity around the disappearances and murders of Indigenous women on Turtle Island!

*When*: Saturday February 14, 2009 at noon

*Where*: TO Police Headquarters at 40 College St. (near Bay St).

Rally and march to the Coroner’s office (26 Grenville St), followed by a gathering with food at U of T’s Centre or Women and Trans People (563 Spadina Ave)

*Please Note*: a limited number of TTC tokens are available for those attending the event. The U of T Centre for Women and Trans People is wheelchair accessible and will be open from 11am for those wanting to help cook for the feast, or for event participants who need to warm up. 

Over 500 Indigenous women have been murdered or have gone missing in Canada, most in the last 30 years. We come together in defense of our lives and to demonstrate the complicity of the state and its institutions (police, RCMP, coroners’ offices and the courts) in the ongoing genocide of Indigenous peoples.

In addition to the Toronto rally and march, similar events will be occurring in Victoria, Winnipeg, Toronto, Calgary, Edmonton, Sudbury, London (ON), Thunder Bay, and Vancouver. The February 14 rally in Toronto is being organized by No More Silence (NMS).

Organized by No More Silence (NMS). NMS aims to develop an inter/national network to support the work being done by activists, academics, researchers, agencies and communities to stop the murders and disappearances of Indigenous women. To get involved or endorse the event email us at nomoresilence@riseup.net.

Toronto event endorsed by: CUPE-SCFP; Trans Feminist Action Caucus, CUPE 3903; Ontario Coalition Against Poverty (OCAP); Centre for Women and Trans People, University of Toronto; Centre for Women and Trans People, York University; Canadian Chiapanecas Justice for Women; No One Is Illegal Toronto; For Women’s Autonomy, Rights and Dignity (FORWARD); Toronto Haiti Action Committee.

Video: Miley Cyrus: That Achy Breaky Bigot February 10, 2009

Saw this over on My Ecdysis, and had a hearty ‘lol’ mixed in with some ‘ugh.’

Verdict: racism is still not funny.

Interesting things I read this week February 6, 2009

Okay, maybe in the last two weeks. And by “interesting”, I mean “I want to get off the planet.”

Tamil Canadians rally against the genocide occurring in Sri Lanka* @ Restructure!

Defending Privilege @ Sociological Images

miley cyrus is doing the chink-eye too! @ angry asian man

Also, I am still seething from CUPE 3093 being legislated back to work (@ Shameless).

Feel free to add more infuriating things. 

*Note: the rally is not what infuriates me. What infuriates me is the racism and disrespect towards Tamil peoples coming from the media and elsewhere.