General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Black women are tired of explaining to white women why they should care about everyone's interest [View all]WhiskeyGrinder
(22,334 posts)I think anonymized group callouts are helpful, actually -- partly because that's what led me to self-reflection. We can't build collective power until each of us works on ourselves, and most of us find it hard to work on ourselves in front of other people, especially when we've been called out. It's normal to feel defensive. But online, I can read hard truths about my actions and consider whether the conclusions other people draw about me are valid or not, and then find resources to help foster my new way of understanding things. I can call others in in a way that they can either hear -- or they can block me, close their computer and go outside. Or they can go away, think about it, and then come back to it, much more easily than in real-life spaces.
Don't get me wrong, engaging in these issues in person in small groups and large groups is vital. Leadership training is a huge help. In party politics, it is an absolute must. But it's so easy to default to making the oppressed population do all the emotional work of teaching and convincing in in-person interactions, so white women need to step tf up and bring these issues forward themselves.