Invading Safe Spaces is an Entitlement Issue

[Haveadream]

and one that is worthy of discussion. Especially when it occurs in progressive environments.

The same trend that is occurring in the present election cycle towards people of color and women is one we have seen time and again. It reminds us we are clearly not post racism, post sexism or post ableism even when working to overthrow the status quo.

Whether it is #BLM, Occupy Wall Street or the Democratic Primary, some participants seem to be more equal than others and have an overarching sense of entitlement. A sense of that allows them to think it is alright to invade the boundaries of, speak for, lecture, interrogate and shut down dissent from historically marginalized people. What causes this? The privilege to assume that the ideas, words and even spaces of others will serve as extensions of the entitled group's narrative and desires. Any autonomy or resistance to that is met with reprisal.

That this dynamic occurs most in cultures with the widest gaps in rights between the privileged and the marginalized does not speak well for the current climate in the Democratic Party. Too often, there are those who trample the rights of others and then unashamedly celebrate their abuses of power. Do the perpetrators realize their actions expose their platform of equality to be without the very foundation it needs to make that happen? That they are destroying the ideals of a better future through actions that maintain the status quo? We need to be a Party where the members are fighting for the rights of everyone to be autonomous and worthy of respect and representation.

Much of what is happening here reminds me of an article Brittany Cooper wrote for Salon entitled, "Listen When I Talk to You!". She teaches Women, Gender and Africana Studies at Rutgers. She is also a Hillary supporter.

http://www.salon.com/2014/12/17/listen_when_i_talk_to_you%E2%80%9D_how_white_entitlement_marred_my_trip_to_a_ferguson_teach_in/

Peace and blessings to us all

[UtahLib]

1. Thank you.

[yallerdawg]

2. This is the Democratic Party worth fighting for.

"We need to be a Party where the members are fighting for the rights of everyone to be autonomous and worthy of respect and representation."

[Thinkingabout]

3. I agree, the Democratic Party is worth lighting to retain the value long ago established.

I have worked and promoted Democratic ideas for years, i don't plan on stopping now.

[SharonClark]

4. Thank you for sharing this article

[Her Sister]

5. nicely said!

[Her Sister]

7. article is great!

and freaking sad

[mcar]

6. K&R

[Number23]

8. Good Lord, I can't rec this fast enough!!

A sense of that allows them to think it is alright to invade the boundaries of, speak for, lecture, interrogate and shut down dissent from historically marginalized people.

Yes, a thousand times yes!! I'm sure everyone here has seen my "interactions" with the approximately 3-5 posters -- vast majority white males -- that will simply not leave me alone no matter how many times I've asked, begged and demanded. And I'm sure that it's a coincidence of the highest order that every last one of them couches their bullying, psychopathic tom foolery as a "disagreement over politics" when it's nothing of the sort.

I don't give a shit who you are voting for. I don't care who you support. It's just common fucking courtesy and sense to not barge into protected spaces, into groups where you are CLEARLY not wanted, just because you feel that everyone needs to hear your half-assed, half baked point of view. And when you are asked clearly and in many cases repeatedly to stop engaging, either with an individual or a group, and you refuse to do so then you are doing nothing but broadcasting to the world that you are someone with deep and profound issues, that you clearly believe that your "right" to spout your opinion to people who wouldn't give you the time of day in real life and don't give the first damn about you OR your opinion is infinitely more important than other people's "right" to not be abused. That type of shit, this type of deranged, bullying behavior should not be tolerated anywhere.

[kerry-is-my-prez]

12. Sorry you've had such a hard time. I envisualize some young frat guy posting when I see some

posts. Or even a teenager not even old enough to vote...... Very immature behavior.

[Starry Messenger]

9. K&R

To the moon.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

10. Woe

The guy in the linked to article sounds a real jerk. You don't just put your hands on someone's stuff. You can politely ask him to move it but that's all. Then to condescend and say, "You should listen to me."

I wonder if he was some corporate type. I don't know if you saw the Republican debates four years ago but there was one where Mitt Romney put his hand on Rick Perry's shoulder when responding to him. I'm no fan of Rick Perry but I think he would have been justified in decking Romney at that point.

Thanks for the link.

[SunSeeker]

11. Spot on. nt

[DemonGoddess]

13. Excellent article! K&R!

Can't believe I missed this one

This part

Buoyed by his own entitlement, his own sense of white male somebodiness, this passenger never even considered that he might simply try harder to get my attention before putting his hands on my stuff. His own need to control space, his own sense of entitlement to move anything in his way even if it held something of value to another person, his belief that he had the right to do whatever he needed to do to make the environment conform to his will are all hallmarks of white privilege.

In the reverse scenario, a black man would never get on the train, snatch up a white woman’s bag, and shove it in her face. But then black women are rarely entitled to the courtesies proffered to white women, and black people never presume they are entitled to occupy interracial spaces so aggressively.

As well as a couple others, really spoke to me about the issue.