Re: disgusted (Tunbridge Wells)
erespess@inil.com
Sun, 01 Aug 1999 08:24:02 -0400
>The Cracker's got a point.
>Honky-boy, aint't-got-no-rhythm, twelve-sandwich-eatin', pinky-in-the-air,
>sissy-boy Thor
>>
>> In adhering to the party line - from nigger to negro to coloured
>> to black to African to whatever - & in gingerly avoiding anything
>> that could be mistaken for a racial clich=C8, the former masters
>> seem to me to have replaced the shamboek with an even more
>> humiliating condescension.
>>
>> Scottie B.
certainly, this can be a problem. it is very easy to be condescending in
conversations like these, and i think it's something for white people (in
this context) to be very conscious of. if i were to say "i know everything
about racism" or if i were to proclaim to be a spokesperson for black
people, that would be condescending. it would also be condescending if i
told black people how they should feel. but that is not what i am doing.
in my opinion, racism is alive and kicking, and recognizing or addressing
it is no more of a "party line" than a man recognizing a female coworker is
being sexually harrassed. how we then deal with those facts determines the
benefit that can come about.
i think there is a difference between acknowledging a very real problem and
tiptoeing around it by attempting to be politically correct. political
correctness if used as a way to appear intelligent and informed, or as a
way to simply avoid an issue IS very condescending. but i'm not talking
about politics, either. the changes that still need to occur are at a much
deeper level than just correcting one's speech, although argueably, any
writer understands the power of words to convey meaning, intentionally or
not.
i doubt that you (scottie) are suggesting that there is no real way for
white people to discuss racism without being condescending, because i
believe that you see that racism is not a just a thing of the past. if you
(or anyone else) have ideas about more effective ways to discuss these
issues, i would be happy to hear them. please don't take that as being
sarcastic - i sincerely would like to hear your thoughts.
elizabeth