Things You Need To Understand #9 - You Don’t Get A Cookie

When a person or group does something to address the biases and imbalances in our culture, whether it be on a grand scale, in their own sphere of influence, or in themselves, this is a good thing. But doing so isn’t cause for celebration, congratulations, or a party. Why? Because it’s basic [...]

Seal Press, Amanda Marcotte…Proof That Feminism And Racism Go Hand In Hand

So, I had just about decided not to speak on the Amanda Marcotte issue and the Seal Press issue because I figured everyone knew I supported BFP and didn’t think too much of Seal Press or their tactics. And I know I am absolutely not capable of much in the way of diplomacy or tact [...]

What is this “protection” of which you speak?

“Sexual assaults are frequent, and frequently ignored, in the armed services.” I have this insane urge to email Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA)and say “Duh!” This is old old news, but every few years someone rediscovers the reality that rapists join the military and we get a bunch of op-eds and exhortations for the military to [...]

The Gospel of Race in America

Just so I can be safe in addressing Obama’s speech on race in America that he gave this morning, I’ve posted the video for those that haven’t heard it yet. Since he gave the speech I’ve been checking out the reactions in various places and while some folks are still saying “Rev. Wright hates white [...]

Things You Need To Understand #8 - Anger Does Not Equal Hate

Ever since I started this blog I’ve had people comment or email or say elsewhere that, by the very nature of its name, this blog is about hate. That because I identify myself as angry (and black), and because I have categories like “Angry At White People” I am promoting hate. Up until [...]

Co-opting pain for profit

I’m usually a political blogger in this space, but something has happened that aggravates me to no end and so I feel the need to share my anger with a wider audience. So, this woman writes a memoir about her life as a poor, half white, half NDN foster kid running drugs for the Bloods [...]

Things You Need To Understand #7

That which does not affect you, you often do not see or understand
In other words, if you are White, 99% of the time Racism doesn’t affect you. Therefore, you may not see nor understand Racism when it happens.
If you are a Man, 99% of the time Sexism doesn’t affect you. Therefore, you may [...]

Things You Need to Understand #6 - Male Privilege

I recently realized that while I have an excellent post on White Privilege, I don’t have one specifically about Male Privilege. While it’s true that most any essay or post dealing with White Privilege can be applied to Male Privilege with a quick copy/paste, it’s always good to highlight each explicitly.
As with the White [...]

Something *I* needed to understand

Y’know, housesitting here at ABW for a few days has really opened my eyes to how important it is to keep a “safety zone” around discussions of racism. I thought I understood this, intellectually, but the practical experience has been a whole other thing. One of the recent threads started off as a [...]

Things You Need to Understand #5 - Color Blindness

When white people say:
“I don’t see color”
or
“We should live in a colorblind society”
What they’re actually saying is:
“I refuse to deal with how our culture and societry treats people of color because it makes me uncomfortable. I don’t want to understand how having a different skin color or ethnicity affects other [...]