Post by katscan on Sept 15, 2017 3:44:23 GMT
I was raised just south of the Canadian border in NY State. My hometown was, according to the census, 0.2% minority - total. So, I guess you could say I grew up fairly racially naive. Almost the entirety of my exposure to race and racism was through TV and movies and books.
Being a white-skinned gender non-conforming female, I have experienced the duality of being both part of the in group and part of the way out group simultaneously*.
Depending on my circumstances, my identity has made me everything from an involuntary "gay cultural ambassador" to the target of insults, epithets, and threats on the streets.
But I'm still white. I'm not afraid of police - lately I'm actually more afraid of white men wearing polo shirts. I have attempted to engage in rational debate with other white people who fail to see the difference between government censorship and public censure - aka the court of public opinion - when it comes to free speech issues.
I have been appalled at the readiness of people to label Black Lives Matter a terrorist group while simultaneously defending white supremacists marching armed through the streets.
I was raised to believe that knowledge is power and right now I feel pretty powerless when it comes to the state of the USA. So, I'm here for knowledge.
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* Experientially speaking, a large subset of anti-gay people believe homosexuals are child molesters, sexual predators, drug abusers, etc. thus placing gay people in the pariah group mentioned in the Week 2 Massey reading.
Being a white-skinned gender non-conforming female, I have experienced the duality of being both part of the in group and part of the way out group simultaneously*.
Depending on my circumstances, my identity has made me everything from an involuntary "gay cultural ambassador" to the target of insults, epithets, and threats on the streets.
But I'm still white. I'm not afraid of police - lately I'm actually more afraid of white men wearing polo shirts. I have attempted to engage in rational debate with other white people who fail to see the difference between government censorship and public censure - aka the court of public opinion - when it comes to free speech issues.
I have been appalled at the readiness of people to label Black Lives Matter a terrorist group while simultaneously defending white supremacists marching armed through the streets.
I was raised to believe that knowledge is power and right now I feel pretty powerless when it comes to the state of the USA. So, I'm here for knowledge.
---------
* Experientially speaking, a large subset of anti-gay people believe homosexuals are child molesters, sexual predators, drug abusers, etc. thus placing gay people in the pariah group mentioned in the Week 2 Massey reading.