Tag: social justice

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White supremacy is like water

White supremacy is like water. It seeps into every crack and crevice. It pools in low areas, creating a narrative of normalcy for all other isms to thrive. It drips from the mouths of agents who seek to maintain control and it eats away at the resolve of those who attempt to contain it. It consistently searches for a river that will help it travel to those who do not have access to it.

It is in you and me. No matter the color of our skin or the environment we were raised in. Just like the 60% of our body that is water, it flows through us in ways that we cannot control, but with an understanding of how to contain it, we can move forward.

Unlike water, which we need to survive, we do not need white supremacy. But in order to tear it down and build a better future, we have to agree that it isn’t a necessity. That, in fact, we can live good lives within a structure that does not rely on one group of people being considered superior to all others. That we are all genuinely equal and can live in community with one another. Helping each other, rather than calling each other out. Pulling people close, rather than pushing them away. Understanding that if we don’t work together as one human race, we will lose the ability to have our home on earth.

When water freezes, it does even more damage. It can burst pipes and cause vehicles to spin out. It can wreak havoc on a community. White supremacy has frozen our systems of governance, commerce, and justice. It has seeped in and allowed the systems to stay in place that favor the few over the many.

White supremacy is like water, but we can turn off the faucet and stop the damage. We can listen to those who have been oppressed in this supposedly free nation and learn how to dismantle the white supremacist systems. We can stay engaged and do the work to move forward. We can stop the flow of misinformation shared online, in the media, and person to person by talking to one another about change. White people need to talk to other white people about white supremacy and how to stop the flow. The faucet has been steadily dripping over the years and it is time to gain control, once and for all. When everything is soaked, it may seem impossible to find the surface, but can do it together. Dry ourselves off and move forward as a people.

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Becoming an Antiracist

Introduction

Since last summer, we have heard a lot about being antiracist. The 1619 project, which was released in 2019, was given new life in classrooms and workplaces across the nation as a way to correct the historical record. I am happy to see these moves to remove the whitewashing of history in our public schools and I am hopeful that the States with pending bills against the teaching of the 1619 project will be voted down or removed altogether, but being antiracist is not something that kids will learn from just one history lesson. Being truly antiracist comes from a bigger understanding of the world around us and, for white people, an understanding of how our ancestors in America brought terror to Indigenous and Black populations through settler colonialist and chattel slavery practices.

On an individual level, white people need to have a moment in which things click in order to understand why it is important to be an antiracist. For me, that moment came when I was in college in the 1990s. At the time, we didn’t have the terminology of antiracism to use for the practice, but a visit by a professor in one of my classes started me on the path to becoming an antiracist. It would take many more years of reading, listening, and learning in order to continue the process of becoming an antiracist but what follows is the story of my ‘aha’ moment. I truly believe two things – becoming an antiracist is a continuing process and as white people, we need to STOP asking Black people to hold our hands to get there. We have the capacity to learn others’ stories without burdening them with a retelling. Reading books and taking classes where these stories are offered willingly will give context for the personal work that it takes to decenter whiteness and move forward into abolition.

Inculcation

As a kid growing up in a predominantly white part of Niagara Falls, I thought that everyone’s lives were the same. I went to school with Black classmates whom I considered friends, but we never hung out at each other’s homes. I assumed that because we all went to school together that we all had the same experiences in life. That we all lived the same way and had the same stress and worry of any teenager. What I didn’t understand was that as a white girl, I was able to walk freely in the world without much fear.

Any fear that I did experience was rooted in the fear that is passed down from white person to white person. The myth of Black bodies being dangerous. The coded language that equated the city with danger. The idea that white women were to be protected from the forces external to our bodies. These fears are all rooted in white supremacist mythology re-instilled in white women as we go out into the world, to keep us in line and to be sure that our fear continues. Fear of walking across a college campus at night and fear of the other. In this sense, the fear that I experienced was crafted in myth. Of course, there are dangers in the world and there are bad actors, but most of the dangers that white women are taught to fear are rooted in white solidarity and upholding the goals of the white supremacist patriarchy. The danger myth is rooted in power. If we were not afraid, white men might lose their power. This is where the intersection of race and gender meet.

What I did not learn in high school was that my Black schoolmates were already having to stay vigilant each and every day that they attended school or went to the mall or a dance or the grocery store or walked down the street in a predominantly white neighborhood. Anytime they were riding in a car, they could potentially be pulled over and questioned, or worse, and I had no understanding of this. I was in a space that I see many white people in today – that space of being a ‘good white person’. I never used the ‘n’ word and I was nice to my classmates, which made me think that I was not racist. I did not yet realize that being truly not racist was an active thing. The only way to be NOT racist is to be antiracist.

Realization

As I mentioned, when I was in college I had a professor who opened my mind to the way Black people moved through the world. He told us a story about getting pulled over by the police several times, calling this phenomenon ‘driving while Black’. This had never dawned on me until I heard a personal story from someone who lived it. Suddenly I started to understand that people who are not white have very different lived experiences. Just because we are all Americans, does not mean we all get treated in the same manner. This was just the tip of the iceberg for my understanding. I would go on to graduate and start work with an open mind, but my true antiracist self would not emerge until many years later.

After my first career job ended, when the bank I had spent 7 years working for closed, I went back to school for a second BA in Sociology. During this second time at Buffalo State I was reacquainted with the professor who told the story of ‘driving while Black’. This time I took classes from him that were full semesters long. Had I not had the interaction with him my first time in college, I probably would have felt strange taking classes from him in 2009-2011. Having been exposed to new concepts in my first college experience, I was ready to keep my mind open in this second round of study.

For 2.5 years, I worked with this professor, as well as several other wonderful professors in the department, on projects and classwork and general research. I honed my qualitative and quantitative research methods and I learned all kinds of new concepts I would have never been exposed to in the workplace. My second bachelors experience, although half as long as my first, was so much more rewarding because my mind was truly open to new ideas and concepts. This time around I was able to unlearn some of the ideas I had held throughout my life and relearn the actual facts. This was the start of my true antiracist training.

Continuation

So, from 2011 to the present, what have I done to continue learning and how can others do the same without going back to college to acquire additional degrees?

  1. Continue listening, reading, and researching.
  2. Ask questions in a constructive manner.
  3. If you disagree with someone on the merits, do research before responding.
  4. Make space for voices different from your own.
  5. Always be questioning the structures of society.
  6. Keep an open mind.
  7. Practice empathy (not sympathy) for others.

Keeping an open mind is often the missing piece. Many people shut off from learning and they will only believe the ideas that fit into their narrow world view. When new ideas are presented, they tend to shut down, but it does not have to be that way. Everyone has the capacity to learn. Critical thinking is not a skill that only college educated folks have. We all use critical thinking skills to make decisions daily, we just need to apply these same skills to bigger concepts like race and sexual orientation and gender. When we ask questions and TRULY listen to the answers, we will grow from the experience.

Becoming an antiracist is about giving up the myth of white supremacy that has been perpetuated in America throughout history.

Becoming an antiracist is about actively seeking out the true history of our country and learning the ways that the structures we currently base our society on are corrupt and discriminatory.

Becoming an antiracist is about listening to the stories of people different from yourself and truly absorbing the information.

Becoming an antiracist is about working to release everyone from the past and moving toward a future that is truly equitable.

When Black people are free, we are all free. And until Black people are truly free, none of us are free. Black Lives Matter. Today, tomorrow, and forever. Ultimately, saying that phrase, believing it, and not feeling like it diminishes your own worth means you are becoming antiracist. As white people, we can either be racist or antiracist and each of us have a vested interest in becoming antiracist. Being racist does not serve the greater good. Antiracism is the active approach that we will allow us to do and be better.

Becoming an antiracist is not the end, but the beginning of the journey. Once we have come to better understandings around race, we can move forward into the work of abolition to tear down the oppression of our structures and build them back up with equity. If we all work together, we can make change happen. Drawing on the history of civil rights and abolition, we can make a better tomorrow for all.

Action

Talking about becoming an antiracist is good, but what are the actions that we can take to continue learning and growing in the abolitionist tradition. Here are a few books, shows, and podcasts to get you started.

Readings

Watch

Listen

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Safe Spaces

Let me start off this post by saying Black Lives Matter. I have stated this fact in many previous posts on this site, but I am not certain that I have said those three words in that order and I feel that it is important that I do so here and now. Saying Black Lives Matter is only the beginning, but if I don’t start there, I am doing the whole movement a disservice and I wish to honor the past and help to build a better future in the present.

As a White person, I am actively learning and growing in my anti-racist practice each day. I am interrupting racism in White spaces and attempting to surface and destroy my internalized racism. I make mistakes, but I do not let those mistakes hinder my progress. I admit when I am wrong or uninformed and I keep working on it. This past month has been yet another learning experience for so many White people, that I fear will fade with time. I am hopeful that we can continue to self reflect and grow and I hope to engage more here, in addition to my social media presence with a specifically intersectional, anti-racist message.

Having said that – let us now discuss safe spaces and how White people can learn to be better co-conspirators in the overall struggle for racial and social justice.

At the beginning of June, there was an increase in the follower counts for Black creators online. This, on the surface, seems like a positive outcome. During this moment (after millions of preceding moments that came and went after Black people were killed for no reason) White people are saying we want to learn, but wanting to learn is the only first step. Follow through is also extremely important.

The hope is that White folks will follow these Black creators and take in the information presented to self reflect and become better individuals. White people should be working on interruption of racism in their personal lives, with other White people. If you are a White person trying to learn about systemic racism for the first time, in this moment, my question is ‘where the fuck have you been?’ and my advice in the search for information is to continuously check yourself.

I am glad that so many White people are finally opening up to the possibility that our privilege is the problem, but I am disheartened by the stumbles I see in online spaces. When a Black creator puts up a boundary, White people need to recognize the boundary and adhere to it. You know, the whole, do unto others thing. Yeah – that wasn’t just meant for White people comfort.

Last night, I saw an interaction online that made me question my own presence in a Black creators space and after self-reflection I understood that my feelings on that matter were moot. Not all spaces are for White people, contrary to what White people seem to think. Let me say that again for the people who weren’t quite listening: NOT ALL SPACES ARE FOR WHITE PEOPLE.

When a Black creator puts up a message on their social media account that specifically asks White people not to interact with them, White people need to BACK OFF. When a Black creator voices a boundary that they would like their space to be for Black women only, White people need to step away. But please – don’t use that boundary as a ‘reason’ to stop self-reflecting. Don’t go back into the comfort of Whiteness and stop paying attention to the information that is presented to you from other Black creators. Don’t use it as a way to be lazy, yet again.

Safe spaces are important and when a Black person creates a safe space online, we, as White people, need to honor that space. If we are invited in, we can quietly listen, but we should not engage in discourse in a space that is not meant for us. Safe spaces are sacred and White people cause harm to Black people just by our presence in space. I know that sounds like a lot, but if more White people would really do the work of learning history and engaging with materials on our own, we would come to see why our presence is damaging. We all carry a history with us, whether we like it or not, and that history can bring up psychic trauma for Black people that, although we may not intend it to be the case, can be painful.

Again – we need to honor the spaces that Black people deem as safe and only interact when asked to. When asked to be quiet and reflect, BE QUIET AND REFLECT. And when asked to leave or not come into the space in the first place, honor that request and leave. Don’t come back with a ‘why I’m leaving response’ either. Just. Leave.

We can still do the work of interrupting racism in our everyday lives. We can still do the work of surfacing all the internalized racism that we carry with us from centuries of conditioning to shine a light on it and destroy it. We can still continue to protest and donate and sign petitions and share content that is meaningful for racial justice. But we should tread lightly in spaces meant for discourse between Black people (or Indigenous people or People of color) and White people. We should honor the safe spaces of those who are putting boundaries in place.

After all – they wouldn’t need to put up boundaries if we weren’t still living in a world of White Supremacist Patriarchy. Have a little awareness of your surroundings and proceed with knowledge. Check your privilege, squash your fragility, and stay informed. Don’t just tag out of the game because you feel like you cannot win. Winning isn’t the point. Or – rather – winning for White people isn’t the goal. The goal is to dismantle a system of oppression that has ravaged the lives of Black, Indigenous, and people of color for decades. So keep fighting. We all deserve to live in a world where we are equal.

Black safety matters. Black excellence matters. Black contributions matter. Black Lives Matter.

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Christianity’s History of Oppression aka Hypocrites of the High Seas – a series

Hello lovely readers! I hope you are having a wonderful evening and are ready for some meaty material. I have been studying Christian Patriarchy, MRAs, and other misogynistic practices for a little while now and decided to write a multi-part series detailing some of the information that I have come across in my travels. So, without further ado, here is the first segment in the series. I hope you enjoy it and, as always, please share this piece with friends and enemies alike!

You might not think that Evangelical viewpoints have anything to do with you. If you come from another religious tradition or no religious tradition, you may feel comfortable living in America, because it is known as the home of the free. We take for granted the separation of Church and State and we couldn’t possibly be like other countries that have national religions and oppress their people based on religious doctrine.

If this is what you think, I will give you a moment to Google and mull that thought over.

Unfortunately, the separation of Church and State that we have always assumed was our earthly right is being eroded in our country. It has been for many years, but with this POTUS* we see the agenda much more clearly. Not only did he promise to dismantle women’s, gay, and civil rights, but he has shown himself to be a white nationalist and a misogynist. He was the one candidate on the Republican side of the aisle that was willing to do whatever it took to win and what it took was promising the Evangelicals that he would be their guy.

“Still”, you ask, “does this really affect me? I mean – I feel pretty safe here in America because I was born here and I pay my taxes. I think I can overlook the craziness of this administration because in a year we will be rid of this POTUS*.” And my answer to you is, YES. It affects you. It affects every single one of us. It even affects the Christians that think they are doing what is right. We are moving toward a nation that is not free and that will hurt EVERYONE.

How do we fix it? First, we need to understand the people who are lobbying for changes in our society. Evangelicals have a specific belief system that prioritizes the power of men over women. The most obvious example of this is something called ‘Biblical Patriarchy’ or ‘Christian Patriarchy’. This form of patriarchy is not very different from the definition of patriarchy that exists in modern society, and it could be said to be the basis for this modern understanding. Christian Patriarchy touts the idea that men are the head of the household inasmuch as they oversee their wives and children and direct their lives. Women are, in this scenario, considered helpers and their domain is merely the home. According to a literal reading of the Bible, women are responsible for raising the children in the way that their husband has set forth. Here is an example of this structure that I have seen shared in many online forums to describe this movement, with verse references:

Original creator unknown – The Biblical Model for Godly Homes

That last line is chilling. They have, 100%, worked in that direction and with the current administration they are getting many of the things that they have been striving toward. But why are they so powerful? How did they get someone elected who would move America away from the separation of Church and State and toward a ‘Christian’ nation? The better question is how can we turn this ship around? If we don’t understand the Christian Patriarchy Movement, we are defenseless against what it could do to hurt our Egalitarian society. We have issues with Patriarchy, on the daily, in our secular lives, but adding Christian Patriarchy to the mix takes the struggle for equality to another level.

Again you may wonder: What exactly does this have to do with me? Christian Patriarchy spreads across all denominations of Christianity. It is not just centered on Evangelicals, although we often see them as the largest faction within this movement. Evangelicals have successfully lobbied all levels of government to put their agenda front and center.

Consider this movement as a cruise ship. The Evangelicals and other Christian Patriarchy movement folks are all on the cruise ship and they offer everyone a ticket to their cruise but in order to board you have to leave behind some of the pieces of your identity that you may or may not be able to shed. In essence, you are either on the cruise ship, willing to get on the cruise ship, lost at sea on a raft or small craft, or simply treading water, for eternity.

  1. First you have to believe in their God and only their God.  Being born-again is essential, so if you are anything other than a Christian before you set foot on the ship, you need to change your religion.
    Several States have passed bills to display “In God We Trust” and/or the 10 Commandments in front of or on government buildings and on public property. This is in opposition to the Separation of Church and State, but the Evangelical folks don’t believe that it applies to them. To them, the separation isn’t protecting them, it is restricting them. Bonkers.
  2. If you are a woman, you need to put men in charge of your body (preferably White men, but we’ll get to that in a moment).  If you are a feminist, you can’t get on the ship.
    The current POTUS* has installed two judges that are anti-choice and successfully won a majority of conservative judges on the SCOTUS. This is a move toward dismantling a basic right for women to control our bodies. Christian Patriarchy folks also believe that birth control kills babies (because of course people who don’t believe in science wouldn’t understand how medicine actually works – clue – birth control pills DON’T actually kill babies, they prevent ovulation) so the next step in the legislation of this kind is to outlaw birth control pills. This is a thing that could happen in the near future if we don’t fight against it with actual scientific facts, legislation to retain the rights of women to have basic healthcare, including contraceptives, and elect more progressive people to overturn the conservative seats in the US Senate. Basically, feminists have won many rights for women that allow us to control our bodies and futures, and the Christian Patriarchy peeps do not appreciate that. So – no cruising for the feminists.
  3. If you are anything other than CIS and heterosexual, you are unable to board. All the LGBTQPIA2S+ folks are out of luck.
    Legislation in this area started with the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), bathroom bills that require individuals to present ID to prove their gender identity matches the sex that was assigned to them at birth, and bills that give cover to adoption agencies that favor straight couples to gay couples going as far as allowing these agencies to use religion as a means to discriminate against couples if they do not meet the criteria of sexual orientation. And we all know about the ‘Hobby Lobby’ case and what I like to call ‘it’s just fucking cake’ legislation. So I guess there will be no LGBTQPIA2S+ folks on the ship either. My goodness how boring it will be.
  4. Can I get on this cruise ship if I’m not White or is there a segregation clause as well?
    Well – there isn’t a segregation clause, per se, but you would need to denounce affiliation with any group striving for Civil Rights in the United States or that the cruise directors generally deem unnecessary or unworthy. This would include Black Lives Matter, the Black Panther Party, the Poor People’s Campaign, the NAACP, Affirmative Action, and any other group that is striving to help people of colour gain equality in the United States. This also extends to anti-fascist (and therefore anti-nazi and anti-white supremacist) groups, anti-hate groups such as the Human Rights Campaign, the Southern Poverty Law Center, or the ACLU, and any other group that seeks to make things fair across all of humanity. If you are or have ever been a member (or ever shown an affinity even for any of these groups) you will not be permitted to board.

So after all of that I say – keep your damn cruise ship, conservatives! Travel the high seas with your posse of bigots and leave the land to the rest of us.

If only it were that easy. Since we cannot exile the zealots to a ship, we have to continue fighting for our own rights here in America. We have to make this land free for EVERYONE, not just the conservative, White, religious folks. To do that, we have to join organizations, fund causes, and march. Our lives truly depend on us all partaking in the experiment that is America and getting active is the only way to ensure a better future for all. Rise up and stay standing for human rights!

Peace and keep up the fight!

Chantale – aka hippiegrrl

A few appropriate links:
Southern Poverty Law Center Hate Map – You would think that the deep south would have the most hate groups, but check out New York and California!
ACLU
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Human Rights Campaign
Black Lives Matter
NAACP
Poor Peoples Campaign
Southern Coalition for Social Justice
Homophobic Tumblr post transformed into a LGBTI dystopian YA novel

Next up in this series: Twitter, Trolls, and Trumpsters. How are these movements connected to organized religion? Get ready for some interesting information to aid in your fight for good. DWP!

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How To Make Things Better

What Happened?

We could have had it all. We could have had a leader that would understand our place in the world and act accordingly. A President that would have led us to a better place as a society. A President that understands America’s place in the world and would have governed accordingly. We could have had a President that cares about social justice and human rights for ALL. Instead – we got the opposite of all that. We got a dud. The Electoral College math was in favour of the worst human possible for the job and he slimed his way into the highest office in the land. Now, we are slowly moving toward demise as a ‘great nation’. Our status in the world has been diminished by someone that has no clue how to be a successful businessman, let alone President of the United States. A President that would rather tweet about the media and how he feels they attack him. A President that just says whatever comes to mind, no matter how detrimental it might be for the citizens of this country. A President that only cares about being liked, which, in turn, has led us down a path of horrible outcomes. A President that has tarnished the highest court in the land by adding a second accused sex offender to it’s ranks.

Hillary

What Do We Do Now?

Vote! Vote like your life depends on it (because it does). Vote like the lives of your family members and friends depend on it (because they do). Vote for peace and justice. Vote to remove the disgusting old, white, dudes that are clogging up the system with their misogynistic views of the world. Vote to turn the House blue. We need it. The only way to right the ship that is America is to vote out these horrible people who have been killing our country with their rhetoric. Vote to remove those that do not believe in freedom for all. And then, after you have done your civic duty and voted, take to the streets and raise your voices! Find a protest and MARCH! Civil disobedience shows the world that we are on the side of right and that we do not agree with the people who are currently in power.

Find Your Polling Place

If you have not already, please check here to see if and where you are registered to vote. The deadlines are mostly passed, but hopefully, you are registered in your area. Take a look at the requirements and be prepared at the polls. There may be voter suppression at your polling place, so take special care to be prepared (both mentally and with proof of residency).

See You On The Other Side

If we all band together and raise our voices – both in the voting booth and on the streets – we can bring our country back to where it needs to be. We can move forward in a positive direction. We can find peace and justice for all. This experiment in democracy is not at the end, but the beginning. We can make this a better country and, by extension, a better world.

Additional Resources

Rock The Vote
The 2018 Midterm Elections
24 Acts of Self Care Perfect for Concerned Americans

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Be Better

We are all human beings. We live our lives the way we see fit and we move through life with different goals in mind. Some of us judge others and some of us do not. Recently, I have had several interactions with a certain dude on Facebook that is not exactly cordial, to put it very mildly. The topic of discussion is always Christianity and it always ends with me questioning how he can have hatred toward specific groups of people (and see that hatred as an integral part of his religious belief system) and he tells me I am not a true believer.

This does not bother me as much as it might bother others because he is right about one thing: I do not believe in the same God that he does. I am not a true believer in the ways of Christianity that the Evangelical movement would have people believe are right and true. I believe in the beatitudes. I believe in a loving Jesus, that was open to all people and did not judge them even when he saw their sins. I am not an every Sunday Christian, but I am also not an atheist. None of this really matters because it is not his or anyone else’s business what I believe, but he often takes it upon himself to tell me that I am different because I do not believe what he does.

My main issue, during these conversations/debates, is that he does not believe in Transgender people. He does not believe they exist. Here is the thing though – it does not matter if he does not believe in them because Transgender people DO actually exist. His belief system does not make things that actually exist in the world disappear. It simply makes him an asshole for treating people with disrespect because he does not ‘believe’ in them. Just because he thinks that being a homosexual is wrong, does not mean that people in the LGBTQ community will wake up one morning and start being straight, cis, and binary. Just because he does not believe that a woman should be POTUS because she should only be a helpmeet for her husband (because, you know, all women should be married to men and making babies – not working and certainly not being bosses) does NOT mean that a woman will not be President someday. Times change and we should change with them. New information comes to light that changes the way people think and feel and we should adjust for that. Science finds variations in the reality of humanity and we all learn new things about the world. Some of us trust new information and some reject it.

If you are one of those people that truly believe that people you consider different should stop being who they are, on a fundamental level, then perhaps you should also stop enjoying the fruits of their labour. Here is a list of all the things that you cannot enjoy if you are going to denounce other humans because they are different from you in ways that you deem ‘wrong’ as an Evangelical:

  • Musical theatre – The theatre is a place for creativity and openness. Musicals are written by and for people that have open minds. Even if the musical has a religious theme (Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Godspell, Children of Eden, etc.) that does not mean that all the performers, directors, writers, and tech folks are straight and/or cis. The musical theatre community is known for being an open place for ALL people to practice their talents and feel safe. So – musicals are, for lack of a better word, OUT!
  • Pop music – If it is meant to be played on the radio and for the consumption of the general public, then there is most likely at least one LGBTQ member of society involved in the creation of said music. And hey, you never know, so better safe than sorry, right? I guess you have to remove that radio from your car and give up that Spotify account now, eh?
  • Literature – There are books in the canon written by and for LGBTQ people. There are books that have stories that revolve around LGBTQ lives and allow for people in the LGBTQ community to see themselves in these stories. This is a positive step for the literary world as literature should continue to tell the stories of people from all walks of life. I suppose you should stop reading anything but the bible, then – but wait! Even the bible has LGBTQ themes within it. I guess you have to put that book up on the shelf as well. Unfortunately, that will mean that your learning will be stunted, but, then again, it seems like learning is not really something you find important anyway, so start discarding those books! And I suppose you need to stop going places where books exist so that means that libraries, bookstores, and Amazon are now all off limits.
  • Television – This one is probably going to be hugely difficult, but did you know that many writers, producers, actors, and showrunners are actually from the LGBTQ community? There are new shows coming out every season that tell the stories of this community – again a positive step, just like in literature – but for you not so much. So you better shut off that television – maybe sell the television to some sinner to get it out of your life altogether.
  • Movies – see Theatre and Television above. Are you getting the picture?
  • Food – This is a funny one, but did you know that a lot of LGBTQ people actually work in the restaurant industry? When you go out to eat there could be an LGBTQ person making your dinner – or serving your dinner – or making money off the restaurant chain you are eating at – or sitting at the table next to you. Perhaps you should stop leaving the house altogether? You could always order one of those online food service things, but then there could be LGBTQ people putting the boxes together or delivering your mail.
  • All things Disney – This will be especially hard to hear for some Evangelicals out there that are Disney fanatics, but did you know that Disney is a gay-friendly organization? In fact, there are many Disney characters that are actually gay. Disney is also an inclusive company. Oh, the horror. How will you enjoy your heteronormative views around the Disney princesses if you know that a few of those princesses might actually be lesbians or feminists or powerful on their own? Modern day Disney princesses don’t even need the prince to save them because they are no longer damsels in distress. It is pretty awesome, but I guess if you are an Evangelical this disqualifies Disney as well. Better unpack your bags and stay home – no Disney vacation this year!

I think you get the point. LGBTQ people exist in the world. Lesbians exist. Gay men exist. Bi-sexuals exist. Transgender people exist. Queer people exist. Genderfluid people exist. Intersex people exist. Polyamorous people exist. Pansexual people exist. These people are everywhere and they are all a part of the wonderful fabric that makes up humanity. We are never going to go back to a time where people have to hide because of who they are as humans. Those of us who are allies to people in the LGBTQ community will forever stand beside them and fight for their right to be who they are and not have to live in fear. Religious fanatics who think LGBTQ people do not deserve to exist need to change their minds or become hermits. There is really no other option. Sorry, dude, but I’m not going to stop advocating for my friends and if you don’t like it, I guess we won’t be talking much anymore either.

Peace,

Chantale aka hippiegrrl

footnote: Since this post was started (14 December 2017) I hid the aforementioned dude’s feed on Facebook. I also hid his wife’s feed. This means that I will be somewhat out of touch with the goings on in their lives, but it is just easier this way. Eventually, I will unfriend them, but I’ve been lackadaisical when it comes to cleaning up my feeds. I am far overdue for a purge though, so, maybe April or May? Oh, but don’t worry, dear readers, I am still keeping receipts of these interactions which I will be archiving over on my latest tumblr.

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Topple the Patriarchy

Last week felt like a tipping point. I realize that, over the years, there have been many moments that felt this way, but last week really (REALLY) did.

So, can we finally talk about sexism and the ways to combat it and change the course of our future in an open, honest, and realistic way? Is it finally time for those of us that have been shouting about feminism and the need for the fall of the patriarchy to finally have our voices heard? Is it time for feminism to embrace intersectionality and come together as one voice to stand up for what is right? Finally? After years and years of struggle can we finally see a light for all those who are marginalized?

If you think that Hollywood is the only industry where sexual predators exist you would be wrong. Sexism exists in every industry in the world. That’s right – it isn’t just an American problem, but we certainly take it to new levels of disgusting. The only way we can ever fix the problems that we have across industries is to dismantle the system that is holding women back from true equality. We need to topple the patriarchy!

Patriarchy
noun
1. a form of social organization in which the father is the supreme authority in the family, clan, or tribe and descent is reckoned in the male line, with the children belonging to the father’s clan or tribe.
2. a society, community, or country based on this social organization.
3. a social system in which power is held by men, through cultural norms and customs that favor men and withhold opportunity from women:
The corporate glass ceiling is one consequence of patriarchy in education and business.
4. (often initial capital letter) the men in power in a society (usually preceded by the):
The Patriarchy is vested in maintenance of the status quo.
source: Dictionary.com definition of patriarchy

The patriarchy is not an inanimate, nebulous thing that is casting a shadow over our world, but a strategic set of systems, put in place thousands of years ago, to continue the oppression of humans that identify as female. Feminism seeks to right the wrongs of the past by bringing equality to all humans. Feminism, as a concept, is relatively new in human history, but the fundamental understanding of fighting for equality has been around since the beginning of time. Women have always struggled to be equal to men. Women have circumvented the system in order to bring about more equitable circumstances, but that has never been enough.

Feminism
noun
1. the doctrine advocating social, political, and all other rights of women equal to those of men.
2. (sometimes initial capital letter) an organized movement for the attainment of such rights for women.
3. Older Use. feminine character.
source: Dictionary.com definition of feminism

In the waves (are we up to 4th wave now?) of modern day feminism, the concept of intersectionalism has been de-emphasized. Giving space and voice to WOC, Lesbians, Trans women, and disabled women is an important, and necessary, step toward full social justice. If we do not include the voices of all women, we will continue to bear the burden that comes with our separate struggles. WOC, Lesbians, Trans women, and disabled women have to deal with additional levels of marginalization that white women don’t even think about. The privilege that is afforded to white women in the movement needs to be examined and broken down. White women need to listen to marginalized women. The act of listening requires silence from white women. It requires all women to create a dialogue in an atmosphere where all voices are magnified and all women feel trusted and heard.

Intersectionality
noun
1. the theory that the overlap of various social identities, as race, gender, sexuality, and class, contributes to the specific type of systemic oppression and discrimination experienced by an individual (often used attributively):
Her paper uses a queer intersectionality approach.
2. the oppression and discrimination resulting from the overlap of an individual’s various social identities:
the intersectionality of oppression experienced by black women.
source: Dictionary.com definition of intersectionality

In the 1960’s feminists took up the act of gathering in groups and sharing stories, which began the act of consciousness raising within the movement. Although the concept was not new, as there had been a long history of talking circles in India and Native populations of the Americas, feminists found that sharing stories allowed them to be enlightened by each other, sometimes seeing something of themselves in other women’s remembrances. Unfortunately, these consciousness raising sessions were usually homogenous and therefore did not benefit from the gains that could have been made in a truly intersectional gathering of feminists. The 1960s also saw anti-feminist factions drive wedges between groups of women that had previously been united, festering resentment across the movement. This tactic was successful in splitting apart a struggle that had been united in the fight toward equality for all women. In our current day feminist struggle, we need to find a way to dispense with the wedges that have kept us apart and work together toward equality. Women are a force to be reckoned with, but only when we are united toward a common goal, keeping in mind our differences and additional burdens, and working in an intersectional manner toward justice.

“It was the first time I witnessed the ancient and modern magic of groups in which anyone may speak in turn, everyone must listen, and consensus is more important than time. I had no idea that such talking circles had been a common form of governance for most of human history, from the Kwei and San in southern Africa, the ancestors of us all, to the First Nations on my own continent, where layers of such circles turned into the Iroquois Confederacy, the oldest continuous democracy in the world. Talking circles once existed in Europe, too, before floods, famines, and patriarchal rule replaced them with hierarchy, priests, and kings. I didn’t even know, as we sat in Ramnad, that a wave of talking circles and “testifying” was going on in black churches of my own country and igniting the civil rights movement. I certainly didn’t guess that, a decade later, I would see consciousness-raising groups, women’s talking circles, giving birth to the feminist movement. All I knew was that some deep part of me was being nourished and transformed right along with the villagers.”

Steinem, G. (2015). My life on the road. p 36.

After raising our consciousness as a united group of women, the next step is to deconstruct the structures in our society that have been keeping women down for so long. In order to truly dismantle the patriarchy and break down the barriers to success for all, we have to start taking a long look at all of the industries and organizational structures in our world. This is not just a problem of Hollywood or Silicon Valley or the Media. The problem exists in offices large and small, where women still make up a small percentage of senior staff and an even smaller percentage of C-level positions. The problem exists in the home where women are still expected to work a “second shift” (Hochschild, 1989) to keep the household running or to simply work in the home as an unpaid labour force. The problem exists in organized religion, where women have been made subordinate, for centuries, by dogma and male interpretations of sacred text.

Until women can hold places of power in all industries and institutions, we will not be equal. Until the work that women do in the home is valued in the same way that work outside the home is valued, we will not be equal. Until power is evenly distributed across sex and race, we will not be equal. Until we are able to open the doors of opportunity to every citizen of the world, we will not be equal. And until we are equal, the acts of abuse, harrassment, assault, and rape that are committed by so many men in power, will persist.

One other thing though – until women who gain power can stand up for other women, we have gained nothing. There are still women who believe that it is better to stand behind a man than to help their fellow sisters. There are still women that are willing to be shills for the patriarchy. There are women that voted for the current predator-in-chief, knowing that he is unworthy of the White House. There are women who will cover for abusers and harrassers. There are women who are apologists for men that cheat. Perhaps some of these women are afraid, and to them I say that there is help out there. There is someone that is willing to help you come away from the person that is dragging you down and move forward with your life. There are people that can assist you in deprogramming from the crap that you have been fed your whole life about being inferiour. There are resources available to move away from the hatred that is the patriarchy and to move forward, surrounding yourself with people that care about equality.

And there are men that care about equality as well. You don’t have to stay with an abuser or continue to be an apologist for the men in your life that abuse others. You don’t have to stay with a cheater and continue to be lied to and deceived in the service of someone else’s inability to be faithful. You don’t have to vote the way the men in your life vote and you don’t have to take their shit. There is a network of people that believe in justice for all and that network is made up of feminists. Feminists are the only people that will ever, in the end, fulfill the real promise of the United States and bring about liberty and justice for all. Join the movement and together we can topple the patriarchy!

 

Peace,

Chantale (aka hippiegrrl)

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Standing Up To Racism part 1

Last month I decided to jump back into Facebook friendships with a few people that I had lost touch with (aka unfriended). Most of these people consider themselves to be conservative. They are also white and middle class. They have all lived in what they consider to be safe spaces and have not had to struggle to survive. Basically, they are living the American Dream as it has been sold to us. So why would any of them be opposed to helping other people reach their full potential? Why would they dislike people who do not look like them? Why would they argue the opposite opinion on Facebook, even if it looks like they are siding with racists, simply to provoke an argument or, what they perceive as, raise awareness? Why would people who consider themselves Christians agree with arguments made by racists?

Here is what I think – There is a core of racism that has festered in this country since Columbus arrived and white people that make arguments that are counter to the struggle to move forward out of this racism are also racist. The core of this national racism is with the white supremacist groups, of course, and they make no bones about being straight up racists. They are honest and do not care if people perceive them as such because their agenda is to make America fully and completely white. So – they are horrible people, but they are honest in their views and how they present them. They fly confederate flags in order to let you know that they are a part of a group of people that hate everyone that does not look like them. They do not hide this hatred.

The second ring of racism that exists, around these core racists are the apologists. People that argue against liberation and for the same policies that racists want to see continued or enacted. This second ring of people are more subtle and, until something happens in the country to trigger them, they stay relatively quiet in the face of racism and hatred. They do not advocate for oppressed people, but they also do not speak up for racist whites, until they either feel the pull of an argument or they are potentially in the crossfire of the march toward true equality.

Here are a few comments that fall into the category that I am speaking of above. Comments that will alert you to the existence of a subtle, second ring racist:

  • “Affirmative action is not necessary. Everyone needs to work hard and pull themselves up by their bootstraps.”
    • This is subtle racism because it does not take into account the systemic oppression of POC within the history of our country. It does not look at the systems that have been set up within education and industry that work against people of color and continue policies of oppression within institutions.
  • “There is nobody left in this country that was alive during the Civil War, therefore the Civil War is no longer a problem. Everything was solved by the South losing.”
    • This statement does not consider the fact that, as humans, we are all descended from other humans. If you had ancestors who were slaves or slave-owners, you would still have a connection to the atrocities that were done to or by your ancestors. White people that have ancestors who were slave-owners have an even greater responsibility to make the wrongs of their ancestors right. They should be standing up and denouncing the people in their family history that committed these atrocities, calling out everyone in their presence that is racist, and fighting for equality for all.
  • “We don’t need to tear down statues of Confederate generals because sometimes we honor things that people don’t like and they just need to deal with it.”
    • I have no words. This is just. Wrong.
  • “The Confederate Flag is a symbol of Southern pride and people should not equate that with slavery.”
    • The confederate flag is a symbol of the South’s contribution to the Civil War, which was to fight to retain slavery. Due to this fact, the confederate flag is a symbol of hatred and racism. If you fly this flag either in front of your house or in your front window or on your basement wall you are a racist, full stop.

These are just a few of the comments that I have noticed on my travels through these new Facebook friendships that I entered into last month. One of these friendships ended abruptly when the ‘friend’ used the n word on one of my comment threads. I asked her to remove it and rather than doing that she tried to explain it away. She said she was ‘trying to make a point’ and she was, but not the point she thought she was making. The point was that she is a racist. So, I removed the comment and I unfriended her the next morning. When she wrote back to me in a private message I ‘broke up’ with her, which is to say that a friend I have known since I was 5 years old is someone I will no longer be speaking to. Some people change, some people don’t. But we don’t have to connect ourselves to racists anymore. We never should have in the first place.

Another thread (which I luckily took screenshots of before it got removed – more to come on this later) involved a comment made by a friend of an FB friend that was blatantly racist. When I called him out on it, he asked me if I was calling him a racist. I said yes, because he is and he asked me again. I assume that if the thread was not removed that it would have devolved into him attacking me for calling him what he actually is. It is disheartening that these types of exchanges are getting removed in order to ‘keep the peace’ when a way to make the world a lot more peaceful would actually be to call them out. And those that hide or side with these racists are culpable. Enablers are also part of the problem. People have this idea that if they remain bystanders they are safe, but they are not. Bystanders need to stand up and speak out. Racists deserve to be shamed. Perhaps that will change their minds. Or it won’t and at least we know who they are. Shine the light.

I will continue to chronicle the racism that I see in my Facebook feeds and stand up to these assholes. I will call them out for their racism and I will not back down from my convictions. We have to make this world better and that means shaming racists until they either change or go away. I’m not clear, yet, on what ‘going away’ looks like, but I am happy to know that the racists are actually not the majority of America. They might think they are, but they are not. And we will show them this fact by pushing them back into their dark corners.

Peace,
Chantale (aka hippiegrrl)

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Good vs. Evil aka Binaries and Why They Are Not Useful

Last week, the writer and I received a note in the mail. Inside the note was a printed sheet that listed sermon notes from a service attended by a family member. The sermon was purported to be about Gender, although I would argue that it was actually about Sex, as Gender is a social construct that is carried out by individuals according to how they feel, and, in this sense, is fluid. Gender is how one performs their masculinity, femininity, or neither, to the world.

Sex is connected to the sexual organs that one possesses and is not connected to the Gender representation that one performs. Sometimes the Sex and Gender match up, but more often than not they don’t. For more on cis, trans, sex, sexuality, and other fun gender studies terminology, please refer here: Why I Am A Feminist.

Now that I have reiterated the differences between Sex and Gender, let me return to the sermon and it’s notes. The beginning of the notes had the usual biblical information. God made this and God made that. Yadda yadda yadda. God made a woman and God showed Adam he needed her. And so on. Then we get to a section about the different Evangelical views on gender (sex) roles.

Egalitarian view: God made men & women equal – and they have the same roles regardless of gender.
I like this one and, honestly, I am extremely surprised to see this on the list. I was under the impression that Evangelicals did not believe this. The next one is more in line with what they actually believe, so here goes…

Complimentarian view: God made men & women equal – but they have different roles based upon gender.
This is the view that this particular preacher states the bible teaches and he is correct. The bible does teach this. It teaches that women are the property of men and that patriarchy is the only way to live. It teaches that slavery is the norm and that we should never eat shellfish or cut our hair. It teaches many things that do not have bearing on the world today.

It also teaches really awesome and good things, but, sadly, the Evangelicals never seem to get around to that stuff.

After all the introductory information is presented, the real important (and scary) part is this:
There is a call to battle at the end, the gist of which is that anyone who does not believe women are subordinate to men is an enemy. Enemies seek to distort the Bible. So, I suppose this means that if I want to work and drive a car, I am an enemy. Since I studied Sociology and received not 1, but 2 (!) bachelor’s degrees, I am an enemy. Since I have a vagina, but I choose not to use it in the service of procreation, I am an enemy. Since I am pursuing a Masters degree and working a full time job, rather than staying home and raising children, I am an enemy.

You know what? I will settle for that then. I will settle for being an enemy. If that is what they are going to see me as, there is really no way to fight it. They will always and forever see me, and anyone that agrees with me about civil rights, as an enemy. I was not preparing for battle prior to receiving these sermon notes, but perhaps I should be. In the end, though, I prefer to just be me and let everyone else be everyone else. I prefer to love each other, just as the person that they worship told his people to do. I don’t need to go to church on Sundays and pray to a deity in order to be a good person. Nor do I need the threat of hell fire to make me act civil to other humans. Organized religion ruins spirituality in very deep and profound ways.

I have seen supposed Christians standing outside of clinics, screaming at women. Is this what Jesus wanted?
I have witnessed supposed Christians standing on soapboxes screaming at passersby to convert or burn in hell.
Is this what Jesus wanted?
I have noticed supposed Christians who talk ill of one another during the coffee hour, after the sermon.
Is this what Jesus wanted?
I have heard supposed Christians be passive aggressive in their dealings with other people.
Is this what Jesus wanted?
I have been in the presence of supposed Christians screaming at gay and lesbian folks for the way they were born.
Is this what Jesus wanted?
I have received tracts from supposed Christians who say they want me to be saved, but only on their terms.
Is this what Jesus wanted?

No! Jesus wanted us to love one another. Jesus wanted us to be good people. Jesus would probably tell these supposed Christians to chill out.

Life is not about binaries, but fluidity. When we think about a situation, we should have the ability to open our minds to ALL the possibilities, not just those that have been imposed upon us. Imposition results from all different areas of life, but no other place is it more prevalent than in the modern day Fundamentalist movement. The bible is held to be truth beyond a doubt and questions are looked upon as evil. You either believe or you do not believe, and this is dangerous as it leaves no room for the bulk of humanity.

We are all individuals, moving through space and time in different ways and at different speeds of living. We do not all see life from the same perspective and, therefore, should not feel beholden to any book or opinion of a man on a pulpit. We each create and recreate our lives based on what we encounter from day to day. Belief evolves over time, just as everything else evolves. Change is constant and we need to move with it. Having the ability to shift gears and understand your reality without relying on the dogma that has been inflicted upon you over time is important. Without this ability new situations can be daunting and, at times, even overwhelming.

In the end, you can, and should, live for yourself.

Whether you believe in something or you believe in nothing, the one thing we should all believe in is each other. We should be open and accepting. We should not just tolerate, but embrace difference. We should live our lives in the best way we can and in the end it will all work out. If not, who wants to spend eternity with a deity that punishes humans for their very nature? Not me. Would you?

Peace,
Chantale aka hippiegrrl

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With Liberty and Justice For Some

We live within the confines of our environment. Although there are dreamers amoung us, the majority of the human race just goes with the flow. This is why it is so hard to come up from our country’s racist past. Why is it so difficult to look at a situation and really see it for what it is? Mainly because it is easier not to try and understand the underlying causes of racism. It is easier to just move forward with life, live in a bubble of understanding about our immediate needs, and not question the norm. This is laziness at its finest. True understanding is difficult. It requires hard work and perseverance.

In America we would rather watch reality television and be hyper consumers than think about our history or future. We walk around in a daze, brought on by fast food and the need to pay bills, while ignoring the bigger parts of our being. We miss out on the important things in order to focus on the garbage. The media easily shifts our focus away from wars, in other countries and down the street, by “reporting” on the latest pop culture phenom and his or her fall from the pedestal of fame. We buy in to this focus shift through our own retweeting and sharing of senseless memes, or worse, memes that make fun of marginalized communities. We continue the cycle of nonsense that the major media creates, through social media outlets. This is not to say that we should give up Facebook, twitter, tumblr, Instagram, and everything else online, but that we should be more thoughtful (and, even better, thought provoking) in our interactions on these sites. Social media is a tool for change, but until we focus, it will continue to be taken over by the masses who do not care about real social change.

I suppose this sounds like the rantings of a bitter feminist who does not want anyone to have fun, but that is not the case. We should all be able to have fun. Our lives should be enjoyable and we should, each and every one of us, expect the following things out of life.

1- to be able to have a job that we love, or, if our preference is not to work, to be able to make that happen in our lifetime.
2- to be able to work in an environment free of harassment and maltreatment.
3- to be able to have the family structure that we strive for, without restriction, and all the benefits that come with that family structure.
4- to be able to pursue an education without having to pay off the debt of said education for the rest of our living years.
5- to be able to walk down the street, in any neighbourhood in the country, without being followed or made to feel unsafe and certainly to not be attacked verbally or physically.
6- to be able to make choices about our bodies without the interference of other bodies.
7- to be equal, each of us, all of us.

There are many more ways in which our lives can be enjoyable, but these should be what we expect, at minimum. After the past week of events, it seems that we cannot even have all of the above things fulfilled in this country and that is sad. Pundits are always floating the idea that America is the greatest country in the world, which is, by the way, baseless when you consider all the injustice. Would the greatest country in the world seek to limit the rights of half its population by sneaking through restrictive legislation in secret special sessions? Would that nation allow a young person, who was unarmed, to be brutally killed by an older, armed man, and then put the child’s friends on trial rather than the perpetrator? Would that nation set standards for voting only to revoke those standards 50 years later in the name of progress? Would that nation try to sidestep its racist past by being apologists for a frame of mind that still exists in the southern most reaches of its land mass? No! A great nation would not. On the birthday of our country, it is shameful to see what we do in the name of a great nation. We hurt our own people and we send our citizens to other countries to fight and die for these ideals. What we should be doing is having a very real conversation about equality, in this so called great nation, and how we can truly be a beacon for the world. How we can own up to our past injustice and move forward. How we can lead the charge for human rights by example, not by rhetoric.

When a parent tells a child what to do, maybe the child will do it, maybe they won’t, but when a parent models behaviour to that same child, the child will eventually mirror those behaviours. As a young nation we have had massive growing pains, but it is time now to grow up. To be a decent society that treats all human beings equal. To be the best we can be. I know we have it in us, but we need to bring it out. Bring up the best and call out the worst, then move forward, together. If we need a model, we can always look to an even younger nation to the north. They seem to be moving in the right direction. They stumble at times as well, but they are also pretty damn good at standing up, dusting off, admitting wrong, and moving forward. That should be our goal. Lets make it happen, together.

Peace,
Chantale

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Evolving Out of Racism

How do we live here? How can we continue forward knowing that this has happened and continues to happen. Paula Dean is not the first racist to be “found out” and she will not be the last. The problem lies in the fact that she cannot admit she was wrong. That is because she doesn’t believe that she was wrong. She is a member of a Southern society that still believes it is okay to oppress those who are different. The problem is that she should be rising above that. It is possible. Let me demonstrate, from my own life, how it is more than possible.

I was raised in Niagara Falls, NY. That is not where my history begins though. My family has roots in Alabama. We did not discuss this when I was a child, but I’m pretty sure that someone, somewhere in my family tree, was a slave owner. I can guarantee that one of my ancestors was a Confederate soldier and that my great grandmother and great aunts were members of the daughters of the confederacy. I am sure that more than one of my family members, maybe even to this day, flew a confederate flag in front of her/his home. Since I am a conglomeration of all the parts of my family tree and the social construction of my environment growing up, I came out different from those distant (by space and/or time) Southern relatives.

Not to put it all on the South though, I have to speak about the city in which I grew up. As I mentioned, I am from Niagara Falls, NY. Being a Northern city, on the border of Canada, you would think that we would be more evolved than the South. You would think that with all of the immigration to the factories on the waterfront, that we would have a much more open and honest way of dealing with one another. You would think, that we would be a diverse city culturally. You would think, but this is not the case. Yes, it is diverse, but it is also one of the most segregated cities in the United States. Buffalo, too, is highly segregated and actually has made the list of top 10 most segregated cities many years over. I am not certain what causes this segregation. It could have begun with a need for communities to stick together and then turned into a way for communities to stay separated.

So, other than being segregated, Niagara Falls is also a haven for bigots. Again, I am not certain how this came to be, and nobody ever wants to say anything, but today is the day. Today is the day that I stand up and say, “I was raised in a city where bigots run free. Where racism, misogyny, and homophobia are rampant and where the individuals who propagate these attitudes go unchecked.” I am not proud of this, but that is why I need to say it. If we don’t speak our truths we cannot come past them. This is the lesson that Paula Dean will never learn. If she isn’t truthful in saying that she did use the n-word and that she wants to understand why that is bad, she is doing herself, and her followers, a dis-service.

There were many events over my time in Niagara Falls that shaped me. Luckily, they made me evolve away from the norm in my city and try to be the best human being I can be. I saw how people treated each other and, more often than not, spoke behind each others backs, and I decided that I didn’t want to be that kind of person. Some people say that we shouldn’t judge each other, or that only God can judge us, and that may be what they believe, but that doesn’t give a free pass to people here on earth. You can believe whatever you want about the end of the world, but I would think that the best way to get to where you want to go is to be kind to one another while you are here. Since we don’t really know what is going to happen, the best bet is to remain civil and treat each other with respect. You don’t need religion to be a good person, you just have to care about other people. And, sometimes, those with religion are the ones doing the most oppressing, so I don’t think we should even use faith as a marker for good.

I can never understand the plight of the oppressed, in the way that they can, and so I understand that I am limited. However, I am a woman, which means I have a slice of oppression that is all my own, and, in this way, I can empathize. I can be an ally to all oppressed communities because I am oppressed as well. And, on top of that, if I were a Rich White Man (the least, if at all, oppressed), I could still empathize and be an ally.

So, instead of wallowing in the past and the reasons why some of us are still steeped in bigotry, let me rise above that and talk about being an ally. This is what Paula Dean should be doing. She should be reflecting on the error of her ways and coming past it. She should be embracing the communities that she offended. Rather, she has decided to say “I is what I is and I’m not changin” and that is where she has stumbled. She has not evolved and, therefore, cannot be an ally. But you can, so here is how:

Step One – Own up to the past.
This can be your individual past (as in Paula Dean and the ways in which she has been racist through her words AND actions over time) or it can be the past of your relatives; ancestors. I have both Native American and Confederate Ancestors. They are actually on the same side of my family. So, the oppressed became the oppressors or vice versa. I also have Italian, French, English, and German ancestors and they all, each in their own ways, have been oppressors or the oppressed. We all battle, in this country, to reach for the American dream and, unfortunately, it sometimes makes us step on others to get to that unattainable top.

Step Two – Own up to the present.
In understanding your history, you should be able to more clearly see your current state of being. If you still hold on to bigoted ways, you should be able to think about the why and how of it and suss it out. Sometimes people feel they have been wronged by groups of people, when, in reality, there are individuals that have been the catalyst. An example may be the worker that doesn’t get hired based on affirmative action. This has been a hot button issue for the bigots amoung us. They believe that affirmative action (and apparently so do many of the U.S. House of Reps) is no longer necessary or good. They think that it causes reverse discrimination. They would be wrong. Affirmative action insures that schools are integrated and that the past does not repeat itself. With the history of our country as it is, we need affirmative action forever. It is not something we will ever be able to let go of, else we repeat the past. Of course, that is what will happen with the South and voting now that the VRA has been gutted. Jim Crow will be the new standard if the people don’t rise up against voting restrictions and redistricting.

Step Three – Empathize
Even though you are not able to fully understand the lives of the oppressed, unless you are in their shoes, you can still be empathetic. Being a bigot is not being empathetic. Saying you are sorry does not demonstrate your willingness to be better. Only changing your actions does that. Show you are sorry by doing things differently.

Step Four – Work together
There are many ways to work for a cause. Volunteering at an organization that helps forward the cause of an oppressed group is one way. Another way is to combat bullying and hatred online through the deflection of social media noise. When you see pictures and memes of poor people used for the enjoyment of tge masses, do not send them on or “like” them. When you see memes defending racist thought or bigoted people, do not send them on or “like” them. When you see memes that are disparaging to any group of people or individual, do not send them on or “like” them. Now, the trick is to recognize these memes when presented with them online. When you see a picture that depicts someone in a hateful manner that might be a clue. When you see videos depicting the plight of the oppressed with funny captions by the poster that might be another clue. A third, and major, clue is the confederate flag. If you see that anywhere online, do not engage, but back away and report it. That might be a symbol of the South, but it is more than just a flag. It is a symbol of oppression that should not be continuously used to denigrate and destroy. It should be retired. It should be burned.

Step Five – Be Open To All Humans
Being open minded is the best way to combat bigotry and hatred. Understanding that we are all, each and every one of us, human beings and that we should treat one another with respect, is the first step toward evolving from racism. Anyone can do this. Anyone can evolve. In fact, we are all evolving now. We just have to learn how to be on the right track for that evolution. On the kind, open, honest, and non-racist track. Go there, it is nice.

Thanks for listening. If you think this was a tirade just imagine how much I edited out. Hope you will follow me and help to make this world a better place for EVERYONE. After all, we can never have true equality until everyone is equal.

Peace,
Chantale

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On Allies and Cataloging Practice

While watching my favourite weekend morning show, the Melissa Harris-Perry show on MSNBC, I was struck by the idea of cataloging practice and how it can be demonstrative of a critical point in social movements. This moment of clarity, however fleeting, made me giddy in knowing that I may have truly found my calling. Finally.

So, to better demonstrate my point: the topic at the top of the show was on “How to be a good ally”, referring to social movements in general, but the marriage equality movement specifically. In order for movements to move, for lack of a better term, there needs to be allies from outside the community. Harris-Perry used Viola Liuzzo as an example of an ally to a movement. Liuzzo, a white woman from Tennessee (by way of California) joined the march in Selma, Alabama, in 1965, and was gunned down for her ally-ship. She was in the midst of driving marchers back from Selma to their far reaching locations, when she was shot. Being an ally is not always a good experience, and sometimes, as demonstrated in this situation, can be deadly, but it is still important and necessary work. It is something that one does because they are moved to, as Liuzzo was, regardless of the consequences. Ally-ship is important work, but movements must reciprocate.

In cataloging, this would be referred to as a cross reference. Without the broader and narrower terms, we cannot find the information we need. Information seekers cannot understand the whole picture of what they are searching for, if the sources are not cross-referenced.

For example; a book is received in circulation that has many topics it deals with. Perhaps it is a Sociology text that deals with social movements. This book would encompass such topics as civil rights, feminist theory, marriage equality, socio-economic status, and race relations. According to Library of Congress subject headings, the cataloger needs to determine the broad purpose of the text and catalog it within that subject heading. So, the book would appear on the shelf in the Sociology section, sub section: Social Movements. But cataloging does not end there. It is merely the beginning. The book deals with more narrow subjects such as civil rights and marriage equality. In order to assist information seekers in finding this book when they are searching for gay marriage, a cross reference needs to exist for this narrower term. In the catalog, when searching gay marriage this text should appear, just as it should appear when searching the broader term of social movements.

This demonstrates the same concept within social justice. If you look at the full social justice movement as rows of stacks, with a network of individuals as the cataloging system, we see how ally reciprocation (cross reference) comes to be of the utmost importance. If one organization assists another in their struggle, but the struggling org does not reciprocate we lose the cross reference. This weakens the network (catalog) and movements lose steam. So, both cross reference, in cataloging, and ally reciprocation, in social movements are not just important, but imperative.

Overall, the understanding that comes out of librarianship and social justice is the need to work together as a community. If there is a crack in the system everyone loses. Social movements are a web of activity that needs to remain intact for the good of all. Without civil rights, there can be no equal rights. Without equal rights for minorities there can be no marriage equality or reproductive rights. Without marriage equality and reproductive rights there can be no healthcare reform. Without health care reform, there can be no workers rights. Without workers rights, there can be no environmental justice. Without environmental justice, there can be no local food movement. You see the point. It is a huge network of active participants that needs to overlap and dovetail and continue to strive toward cohesiveness in all things human. For the overall movement should be, just as Sociology was the broad term for the text in my previous description, Human Rights.

So, let us struggle in solidarity toward this main goal of equality for all, and along the way we can pick each other up, assist in individual goals for each community, and move toward a better world for everyone. We must work together as a community of progressives if we expect the goals of peace and justice can be achieved in our lifetime. The struggle continues, but we don’t have to go it alone. We always have each other.

Peace,
Chantale

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What Is A Family?

This week, the supreme court will hear arguments to overturn both the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and California’s Proposition 8. These two pieces of legislation have brought injustice to a segment of the population for many years now and it is time to end the inequality.

A poll that came out this past week showed that in the 20 years since DOMA was signed into law (Bad Clinton. I love you, but c’mon man. What were you thinking with DOMA and DADT?) that public opinion of gay marriage has shifted greatly to the side of being for, not against, it. Just ten years ago, only 37% of the population would say they were for gay marriage, whereas, 53% say they are today. This is a huge stride and one that can make anyone who survived Stonewall proud. These are the days of change. We WILL see it in our lifetime and times are good.

But, there is always an opposition to good sense and that is where the lawyers defending prop 8 come in. The basis for their claim that upholding Prop 8 is the right thing to do comes from a traditional view of marriage. To quote them directly, “The concern is that redefining marriage as a genderless institution will sever its abiding connection to its historic traditional procreative purposes, and it will refocus, refocus the purpose of marriage and the definition of marriage away from the raising of children and to the emotional needs and desires of adults, of adult couples” (Charles J. Cooper, lawyer representing the proponents of Prop 8).

This got me thinking about my Sociology of Family class, from a few years back, and the first question we were asked and discussed in depth.

What is a family?

Of course, the first answer that was yelled out, from the back of the room, was two parents and their children. Ah ha! Two parents. Not a mother and a father, but two parents. This is telling. Later, this same person went on to say that he believed two parents were a mother and father, but the first reaction was two parents. This definition, although inclusive of same sex couples, does leave out many other people.

How about single moms or dads and their children? How about same sex or opposite sex couples with no children? Are these not families? Are a woman and man that want to get married, but hold off on having children (possibly never having biological children at all), not a real family? Well, if that is the case, I guess the writer and I will have to hand in our marriage license pronto! By defining family in such narrow terms as two parents and their children, it leaves out legions of others. We all become outsiders in this pursuit of narrowly defined family.

This is why DOMA and Prop 8 must go and that no new bills should be brought to any legislature in any state that try to define marriage as one woman one man. This is too narrow a definition for marriage, which also leads to an even narrower definition of family. So, go go Supreme Court! Do us justice now, so that we don’t continue to slide back into the injustice that was around when the country was formed.

We are supposed to be always looking ahead in America. Leading the world with innovation and equality. Well, we have fallen down on the promise that is a free society and if we don’t pick up the pieces and start making it right we might as well forget about that promise.

After all, this same day in history, 26 March 2013, North Dakota passed the most sweeping restrictions on choice since prior to roe v. wade released us from the burden of laws on our bodies. They are attempting to roll back women’s rights, but hopefully the voters won’t let it stand. Two steps forward and one step back.

We will get there someday, slowly but surely, rights for all living, human beings. And by the way, that means breathing on ones own, not just the potential to do so. Just sayin’.

Peace,
Chantale

links:
Full transcript of Supreme Court Arguments On California Gay Marriage Ban – 26 March 2013
‘It’s Bad For Business’: Employers Side With DOMA Opponents – a reason to actually LIKE Starbucks.

love is love is love.

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2005.10.30 – what if?

What would our country (the United States) be like if we hadn’t lost JFK, Martin, Bobby, Malcolm & Lennon? Would we have true equality? Would we see less of a gap between the upper class and everyone else? I feel that our country would be much more well adjusted if we didn’t have so many senseless losses of great leaders and progressives in the 20th century. Instead we are much like the angsty teenager of the world whose father and mother were lost in a tragic accident. We have lost focus as a nation and seem apathetic to the needs of others around the world. We are needy and self-centered and only care about what we can acquire as a commercialistic democracy.

Our leaders are consumer whores who will sell the soul of our great nation for a little oil and a pat on the back from big daddy. When tragedy strikes our shores those who are supposed to protect us are nowhere to be found and the disenfranchised amoung us are left to fend for themselves.

Someday we will come back to the ideals of JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. Eventually we will have to reconcile our wicked ways and come back to the peaceful thoughts of John Lennon. Not that we will go back to being hippies (although some of us wish that we could) – but we could learn a few lessons from the sixties. We should have seen this coming, but we never see history repeating until we are already in the midst of the repetition.

If King were only alive today or Bobby Kennedy or Malcolm X. Yes, Malcolm was radical in his ways, but he had the right idea. Empowerment of the lower and middle classes in this country is the only way to truly change our course. When the disenfranchised stand up and start speaking out we will finally see a change. When the black, brown, red and poor start to organzie we will see a shift.

Two weekends ago the “Millions More Movement” gathering, which celebrated the ten year anniversary of the Million Man March, showed us a glimmer of hope. With the coming together minority citizens, hopefully bonds were formed and plans begun. With these crowds returning to their communities to organize this could be the start of something fantastic. The rise of the weak against the strong. The poor against the rich. Not in a confontational manner but in a way that shows the abilities of people to become more together.

I hope the establishment is shaking in their cowboy boots. Not for fear of danger, but of the rise of the working class. The movement of people toward better lives. The movement of people toward safety. The movement of people toward what is rightly theirs in a democracy such as ours.

A movement of great proportions that will change the future of this nation and help us grow out of this angsty teenage stage and into a mature – fully functioning – well adjusted – globally and locally conscious adult. On that day we will be complete and America will be great again. We can only hope to see it happen in our lifetime.

So what are you going to do to make this happen?

Peace,
Hippiegrrl