Not Proud of Being White
While the Internet is a great way to obtain fast access to a massive amount of information, it’s also a way to obtain access to a lot of ignorant, offensive, bigoted, and disgusting drivel. And those are just the comments on message boards.
Everyone has received forwarded emails which warn against the evils of cancer-causing underarm deodorant or sob stories about poor children suffering from diseases who need your help. These are readily and easily debunked by websites like Snopes.
But some of these forwards are more insidious and dangerous than mere urban legends. Those of us who know better than to believe everything we read delete them quickly and try to forget about them.
Yet we still continue to receive them. So rather than just ignoring them, I thought I’d go through one that came across my inbox recently and discuss exactly why it is insidious, dangerous, and wrong. Please note that I am including many words in this piece that are of an offensive, inflammatory nature. I do this not for shock value or because I like these words, but to show you the original email text in order to explain exactly what it is that I am addressing.
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In The Oppression Olympics, No One Wins
“The Oppression Olympics” refers to the idea that somehow, you can deny someone their suffering in order to posit your own. People who play the Oppression Olympics get so hung up on their own entitlement to being the Chosen Ones of Fucked Up History that they’re defensive that anyone else would try to lay claim to that legacy, even in what is clearly a show of solidarity.
Or as someone on the LiveJournal community Debunking White put it: “the I’m-oppressed-so-you-can’t-be game.”
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There Are Two Americas
In light all of the recent outrage about Barack Obama’s pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, I would like to weigh in.
Until today, I had not seen the Reverend preaching, although I had heard snippets of what he had supposedly said.
No commentsDegrees of Separation: Saddam Hussein, al Qaeda, and the Pentagon
Many news sites are reporting that a Pentagon study has confirmed there was no link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda.
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Racism Is Alive And Well, Part Three: We Must Believe
Geraldine Ferraro’s recent racist remarks are actually nothing new for her. In 1998, she made similar comments about Jesse Jackson:
“If Jesse Jackson were not black, he wouldn’t be in the race.”
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Racism Is Alive And Well, Part Two: When White People Are “Attacked”
Another currently hot topic in the realm of racism, is the series of comments made by former Vice Presidential candidate and Hillary Clinton campaign Finance Committee member Geraldine Ferraro.
In case you haven’t heard about this, here’s what she said:
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Sixteen Maneuvers to Avoid Really Dealing with Racism
I just read this post from Holly at Feministe.us—Sixteen Maneuvers to Avoid Really Dealing With Racism.
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Possession with Intent to Pleasure
In a development reported in multiple Internet news sites and blogs, “a federal appeals court has struck down a Texas law that makes it a crime to promote or sell sex toys.” (1)
It’s difficult to get one’s head around the idea that any state would consider sex toys a threat, but apparently that is the case. According to Statesman.com:
No commentsThe state also argued in a brief that Texas has legitimate “morality based” reasons for the laws, which include “discouraging prurient interests in autonomous sex and the pursuit of sexual gratification unrelated to procreation.” (2)
