scarletwoman
scarletwoman's JournalVictimhood - gotta have some of that sweet, sweet victimhood.
As with all things filtered through, and appropriated by, the dominant culture, victimhood is a prized commodity.
The claim to victimhood cancels out all notions of White Privilege. "How can you accuse me of White Privilege when I'm a victim, too?"
So, we have Sanders cast as a victim, which allows his followers to cast themselves victims as well - and they have little patience for what they perceive as competing claims of victimhood from those groups who have actually been historically oppressed.
You've posted some good things in this thread, but you really stepped in it here:
The AA community does not give a rip about what "Bernie supporters are trying to get across to the AA community", they want Bernie supporters to listen to THEM.
This white privileged attitude - that if white folks just keep explaining what they think will help the black folks, those black folks will eventually "get it" - is the core of the disconnect.
It's paternalistic, condescending, disrespectful, and totally dismissive of the possibility that white folks just might have something to learn from the AA community - if only they would get off their white privileged high horse long enough to actually LISTEN to what the AA community has to tell them.
All the resistance I've seen from Bernie supporters to the message in the bravenak's OP comes from this place of presuming to know, better than the AA community knows, about what's good for them. And the refusal to consider that there might be something to learn from the AA community.
As long as there's no listening happening, it just demonstrates disrespect and dismissal. Why should people who are not being respected, who are being dismissed, who are not being listened to and their messages heeded, who are brushed off as if they had nothing to teach, give any respect or bother listening to what you have to say?
The fact that we have just one mouth but two ears ought to be a constant reminder that we need to listen twice as much as we speak.
Let me break it down to you in the simplest terms I can think of.
Stop trying to defend yourself, and defend the Black Lives Matter protestors instead. Period.
No caveats, no offering advice, no telling them they should do their thing differently. JUST DEFEND THEM and be on their side.
Anything less than that is just a message that you know better, that you don't respect their own decisions about how they want to fight for their own cause, that you think your world view is superior to theirs.
The only reason - the ONLY FUCKING REASON - it "does not bring unity" is because
self-important butthurt white liberals are absolutely REFUSING to give up their perceived position of ultimate authority to determine what is proper and to dictate to black folks how they should behave.
White liberals persist in seeing the black struggle in the abstract, they simply cannot deal with true radicalism, with raw searing emotional pain. It's just so... messy and icky.
So you just go ahead and tsk tsk about "unity" - why the hell would the BLM even begin to think that those white liberals are on their side? Those white liberals whining all over the internet about a fucking stump speech being disrupted by a REAL movement by REAL revolutionaries are making damn sure there'll be no friggin' "unity" anytime soon.
They don't seem to be able to help themselves.
It's been an astonishing few days here, and I sure as heck don't mean in a good way.
Deaf and blind, blind and deaf. Will not listen, will not open their eyes to see. Must self-justify at all costs.
See, these white liberals already know all they need to know. They know they're on the side of the angels on all issues. All you black folks need to do is recognize and acknowledge their enlightenment and their superior grasp of the issues. Then we'll all be able to work together.
Oh, and don't forget to vote for our candidate. Trust us when we tell that he has your best interests at heart.
My friend invites me over because she knows I'm working on my own start-up business,
so being a friend, she figures she'll give me a chance to try out my sales pitch and invites some of her other friends to show up, too.
As it happens, among those other friends of my friend, are several who've just lost a sister, a brother, a child, a cousin. They are carrying a lot of heavy grief and pain, they aren't much interested in my sales pitch for my start-up.
The friend who invited me, who is also friends with these other guests, figures that the truly deeply horrible shit they've gone through really takes precedence over my little presentation. So those grieving, wailing friends get the attention instead of me.
So, how does a genuine human being behave in such a circumstance? Get upset about not being able to deliver your sales pitch as originally expected? Or sit back, let those who are mourning grieve in whatever fashion they choose, and offer them the only thing you really can offer at that point, a listening and sympathetic ear.
They don't want your 12-point economic plan, they want to know that you actually CARE. They want you to get what they feel.
Bernie should have felt honored that those protestors thought highly enough of him that they hoped by showing him their grief, he would take it to heart and work harder to do something about it.
He was given a challenge to up his game beyond "I marched with MLK in the 60s". As the saying goes, "What have you done for me lately?"
I think it's highly commendable - and a credit to our race, I might add - that white people are so
willing to offer their constructive critiscism to those black people so they can learn how choose good leaders.
We are so selfless and giving and wise, it just brings tears to my eyes.
The protestors were not turning us into "enemies". They were challenging us to prove
we are really their allies by demanding that we listen to them.
Thank you! I think what BLM did yesterday was perfect, and I'm not at all concerned about Bernie.
I have faith in him to know what do and do it right.
Dear Black People,
If you want to protest, please check with us first for advice on how to do it properly. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Your White Liberal Allies
P.S. Please vote for our candidate.
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