When a scholarly article written in 1993 sums up the 2016 presidential election in one paragraph. ???
This is an excerpt from "Racial Dualism at Century's End" by Howard Winant. It's in this book that I've been gradually reading through, but this essay is so ? and relevant to today that I highly recommend finding it if you can. It deconstructs colorblindness in our society after the Civil Rights Act.
#socialjustice #race
TheNextBook Um, yeah that hits the nail on the head. And it's extremely worrisome because this book was written so long ago. I blame so much on the lack of an unbiased educational system. 8y
Sparkpuppypup Wow, spot on. So scary. 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook Incredibly worrisome. This entire essay is so on point that I was second guessing whether it was written today or 23 years ago. I can only hope that white anxiety is coming to a head with this fascist nonsense & will get sorted out a bit more once it peaks. I am not holding my breath though. 8y
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BookishFeminist @Sparkpuppypup Very scary. I have 5 other quotes highlighted from this essay alone and couldn't figure out which one to post! The whole thing is spot on. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa Interesting that the candidate that is "trumpeting" it now, is named Trump. Seriously, isn't that just surreal, like some bizarro Twilight Zone version of reality in an alt-history book about what our future would be like. 8y
BookishFeminist @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it's super spooky. Who needs ghosts and stuff when you have neoconservative racists! 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheNextBook Yes! The educational system needs a serious update. The whole....textbooks are primarily made and content decided on by the school board in Texas (because they order the most and can therefore influence content) is very scary, especially when that school board makes partisan and religious decisions not based on educational facts. 8y
TheNextBook @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I can't with how bias a lot of information is. We dont take the time to teach children genuine history its all slanted to make America look better than it is but it isolates and endangers the history of other people and their cultures. 8y
Sparkpuppypup This whole thing is just so sad and scary and surreal. I work in a library in a small town in Ohio, and only recently discovered that every one of my co-workers is voting for he who must not be named. I'm absolutely stunned. Then there are the patrons who check out the HRC bashing books, and think that I want to hear how she belongs in jail, and wait for me to agree with them. I feel like asking them aren't they ashamed of themselves??!! 😔 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Sparkpuppypup I'm in a small town in PA, and I know how you feel! Very similar vibe here, my library carries tons of the anti-Hillary books here too.... but not Hard Choices the memoir of a recent Secretary of State. However I could check out the whole 'Killed' series by Bill O'Reilly. (Sigh) 8y
Tcip Basically if Hilary wins I am out of a job in a very short amount of time, I'm still #withher 8y
Tcip Why? Because social issues matter. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip I hope you won't be out of a job! But I am right there with you. Social issues matter. 8y
BookishFeminist @Sparkpuppypup @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yikes! Yea I wouldn't be able to do that without getting into daily fights. I can only hope some of them secretly won't vote for him and just say they are for social pressure. I'm sure it won't catch everyone but I'll keep hoping anyway. 8y
Notafraidofwords @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it's not only in PA, I live in NJ and I can't wait for this to be over because I'm tired of rolling my eyes so hard at work that I feel like I'm going to faint. 8y
BookishFeminist @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheNextBook The education system continually makes me angry for refusing to address social issues responsibly & pumping up American exceptionalism & imperialism far more than should be acceptable. I'm so tired of this "'Murica, fuck yea!" garbage that is propagated in schools that oversell the Constitution/founding fathers & undersells how people are systemically marginalized by an oppressive white, capitalist patriarchy. 8y
BookishFeminist @Notafraidofwords Yep it's here too! D.C. for the win! I know we both live in predominantly liberal areas but it's really everywhere. White butthurt and people supporting that clown for other reasons. I find the reasons people support him here in the city are different than the ones if I were to drive to a small town rural area. 8y
moranadatter I'm in one of the few liberal strongholds in WI. For local elections, I've had to choose between a Democrat and a Green. Still, if I recall correctly, the incarceration rate for black men in this county was 21 times the incarceration rate of white men as recently as 3 years ago. Having Democrats in power did very little to change that. It's a bit better now that we have a black DA who gets it and gives a shit, but ... 8y
moranadatter ... the kind of systemic change we need isn't coming from the Democratic Party. There are still career politicians at the top who benefit from the way things are & they're perfectly content to pay lip service to social justice during election season while continuing with business as usual afterward, knowing that it's enough to appear better than the other party's candidate come the next election. I'm so sick of this! There has to be a better way. 8y
BookishFeminist @kmdartist Racism definitely has no political party. Our local third party candidates are always BS but I can see how they could make a difference (hopefully) somewhere else. Wisconsin's mass incarceration rates are HORRIBLE. It's heartbreaking. You're lucky to live in a liberal stronghold in WI. I lived in a liberal stronghold in MN but the burbs were different. Also MN liberalism is often Not My Liberalism bc a lot still has racist undertones. 8y
Tcip @BookishFeminist unfortunately I think I will be. If trump wins I'll be good for another few years! Haha. Seriously tho no. I don't want that to happen. 8y
BookishFeminist @kmdartist But yes I agree- a lot of what this article argues is that both Democrats & Republicans create this colorblind farce to benefit white supremacy and it justifies still marginalizing other racial backgrounds. There is definitely a better way! It's just a shame so many politicians don't think outside "traditional" values, regardless of what side of the aisle you're on. I see more progressivism from dems but they are sometimes worse. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip What field do you work in?! 😳 sending good vibes and hoping the worst doesn't happen (both in terms of election outcome & your job!) 8y
Tcip @BookishFeminist I am in private corrections. I know I know, I'm the bad guy. 8y
Tcip @BookishFeminist honestly tho I believe my company does good things. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip Not necessarily! I don't think you are. People who think differently or against the system while still working within it are important so changes can be made. It keeps others in check. 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip That's really good to hear though. Prisons need so much reform and we have to start somewhere. 8y
moranadatter @BookishFeminist Yeah, I remember MN. I grew up there and learned a lot of awful, wrong things about race that I had to unlearn in college and grad school. The Liberalism here isn't much better. It's more of the recent trend towards violent activism or the version of liberalism with racist undertones you described. I believe in nonviolent resistance, education and organization as vehicles for bringing about social change. 8y
Tcip @BookishFeminist I think i agree with that. I like my job because I try to take my values into my workplace and use what I think is right and apply it. Once I am done with my masters I want to do it on a more impactful basis. 8y
becausetrains @TheNextBook @Riveted_Reader_Melissa not only history textbooks! BLM and Native demonstrations we have today are the direct descendants of race riots and protests since the 1600s, but to the news it's "unexpected and sudden." No, it's unexpected that you (white people) have to pay attention, and maybe that you don't have as much influence as you thought. 8y
BookishFeminist @kmdartist I do too. I grew up in a suburb of DC & went to college in NJ, & while race problems exist there & everywhere I was astounded by the near constant, heartbreaking racism & sexism I saw on a daily basis in MN. I have never lived somewhere so blatantly but ignorantly racist, esp among folks who like to consider themselves open-minded. I couldn't stand it in law school. (Not everyone was like this but it was astounding how many there were.) 8y
BookishFeminist @Tcip That's awesome! I hope you can make a lot of difference. It's important to take personal values into work when you work in a field that deals with people's rights. 8y
becausetrains @kmdartist upper Midwest liberalism is sort of the epitome of "all lives matter, so we want to whitesplain why you blacks [Mexicans, Hmongs, etc.] should stop killing each other." I never knew a Black person until I went to college, and then only a few acquaintances - easy to ignore racial issues when there literally are almost no visible non-whites out of the cities, the farms, or the Rez. 8y
Tcip @BookishFeminist I agree :) 8y
moranadatter @BookishFeminist That's disappointing to hear, but not surprising. I still struggle with what I want to do about it. Ignorance is curable. Systems can be changed. But to what? And how do we get there? 8y
moranadatter @becausetrains Yeah, my experience is similar to yours. I don't really have anything to add. 8y
BookishFeminist @kmdartist Ignorance is definitely curable & systems changed. I still grapple with what too, but how to get there, I don't think it can happen without a lot of open dialogue. I am a proponent of discussing uncomfortable issues with people of different backgrounds. I think we tend to default to discussing societal changes amongst those of similar backgrounds to us bc we're afraid of offending, & that doesn't generate change IMO. 8y
Larkken Gah, so #beckywiththegoodhair. It is so frustrating to see politicians (on both sides, @kmdartist, I agree!) seem to use someone who feels entitled to something better as a whip against those even more marginalized - all for a lack of perspective. It always feels so much more personal, even, than oldwhitemen telling us about our bodies or lives (we know about those, and maybe can combat it). But racist rhetoric on who to blame when we fail? Ugh 8y
TheNextBook @BookishFeminist @Tcip @becausetrains @kmdartist @Riveted_Reader_Melissa 👏🏽This. Thread. Is. Everything👏🏽 Why? Because people are honestly discussing racism, and politics with respect! I've known racism my entire life and I am constantly disgusted by the amount of people who refuse to acknowledge it because it doesnt affect them. I'm horrified at some of the experiences you guys have described because I couldn't imagine having to unlearn... 8y
TheNextBook ... behaviors and idealogy with regards to other human beings! I believe education is key. I always have because I see the lack of honest information provided to children and I see adults who have never tried to learn about their history. It's disturbing. Not to mention incarceration rates, police brutality, nationalist movements and how social media propogates hate. Society can change but only if people want it too. Too many dont see racism... 8y
TheNextBook ...or aren't affected by it. So they dont care. 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @becausetrains It would definitely help if we actually taught a more balanced view of history, and more up to the current time period, but yes I know what you mean....it needs to spread into the other areas of education too, diverse books for English classes, and definitely some more extended civics classes. I had one HS civics class, but I think I remember more about the division of labor and checks and balances then some people in politics.... 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...today. Which is scary, but makes it really hard to debate someone who is stuck on the she's had 30 yrs to fix it and she hasn't. I told them they better call the First Lady of Arkansas,I don't know who she is at the moment, but better tell her now that she's the one responsible for the federal budget. 🙄 Sorry to get off topic there, but yes... burying your head in the sand & not learning your history, doesn't make it any easier move forward 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @TheNextBook I agree! I have the best discussions here! 8y
Tcip @TheNextBook I agree. The only time we can move forward is to understand and build a foundation of the past and we do that by having honest, open and respectful conversations. Racism is a everyone issue because on some level it effects everyone one way or another. 8y
moranadatter @TheNextBook @Larkken @Tcip @becausetrains @BookishFeminist @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Part of the reason I'm so frustrated with my fellow liberals is I feel they're doing an awful lot of smug finger-pointing and very little self-reflection about their own racist beliefs and failing to understand how their finger-pointing at Republicans sets us back. I see a lot of blind hatred going around and it isn't just coming from Trump supporters. I get ... 8y
Tcip @kmdartist personal reflection is something we can all use regardless of political affiliation. The liberalistic view is that they (and by that I put myself in that group) are already self enlightened and others are not and it's simply not true. When we come down to it our own national identity is tied so tightly to race and nationalism that we all need to reflect on how we see the world around us. Not just those on one side or another. 8y
moranadatter harassed for pointing out that we have work to do too. I keep going back to Mary Wollstonecraft's point about men's complaints about women being a result of the education they're allowed. Well, it's an exercise in madness to expect people who were taught racist things as children to be magically not racist as adults. It takes work to unlearn that 💩 & we should be helping not accusing. And we should be working on changing education for kids today. 8y
TheNextBook @kmdartist @Tcip yes! Self reflection and honest look at ourselves goes such a long way. 8y
moranadatter @Tcip Exactly! Nearly every single time I see someone pointing at someone else and saying they're the problem, I feel the finger is pointing in the wrong direction. I'm sure I still have a lot to learn and a lot of work to do too. At the end of the day, I want to do whatever it takes to change things for the better. 8y
ultrabookgeek This whole thread gives me hope. 8y
Tcip @TheNextBook @kmdartist there are a lot of things we can point at as the problem with the other guy and his voters but really it means a failure to connect with people who think differently, at least that's how I look at it or try to. I work in law enforcement so I listen to a lot of Trump supporters who are voting for him for many different reasons so I have a great deal of time to think inward about my reasons as an American voter. 8y
MicheleinPhilly This thread is the perfect illustration of why I've been spending the bulk of my time the last couple of weeks on Litsy rather than FB or Twitter. THIS. ALL OF THIS. ALL OF YOU. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 8y
Sparkpuppypup @MicheleinPhilly I just said the exact same thing to my husband just last night! Litsy is the ONLY social media I enjoy anymore. I've all but abandoned FB and Twitter. They're way too negative and there doesn't seem to be very much intelligent conversation, like on here! Litsy always, always puts a smile on my face, it's always positive, not to mention the intelligent and thought provoking bookish and other conversations. I love you all....😘❤️📚 8y
moranadatter @TheNextBook The things I had to unlearn weren't stereotypes about groups of people. I had to unlearn wrong ideas about how the world worked, America's place in the world, the fairness of the justice system, & the neutrality of language & academic texts. It's subtle, but those beliefs lead to wrong and harmful conclusions; people who are taught wrong things believe they are being fair because they would be if what they were taught were true. 8y
BookishFeminist @TheNextBook @Sparkpuppypup @Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Tcip @Notafraidofwords @kmdartist @becausetrains @Larkken @ultrabookgeek @MicheleinPhilly You guys know I love you all, right? Because I do. I love that we can have respectful, open & honest conversations about race and politics. Y'all give me life. 💞 Also could you imagine where we'd all be if an empathy class were part of our educational curriculum? 8y
Riveted_Reader_Melissa @BookishFeminist Wouldn't that be a thing to see? 8y
Sparkpuppypup Speaking of empathy! While this is something I've always kind of just known, inherently, I recently read a study about how reading a lot increases empathy. So there ya go. No wonder Litsy is such a great place. 8y
Tcip Empathy can be taught but I think that the first time I ever really understood cultural empathy was when I watched the movie Paradise Now in my Palestinian cultures class. It blew my mind to the point that it made me think differently about the world around me and how I thought about the idea of "sides" in a conflict. @BookishFeminist 8y
becausetrains @kmdartist 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼 though along with everything you listed, I did had to unlearn stereotypes about different races & ethnicities in order to unlearn the rest of the rotten framework. @TheNextBook, you are so kind, but thank YOU. It takes a certain amount of bravery to buck one form of oppression when you're the target, and you've gone after several. 8y
becausetrains @Riveted_Reader_Melissa anyone have deep enough pockets to hire Dr. @BookishFeminist as professor of empathy? I'd chip in a few dollars ☺️ 8y
moranadatter @becausetrains I did think & say a lot of harmful things. It's just that those things weren't part of the foundation of my worldview & disappeared when the ideas supporting them did. The most harmful thing I was taught was that racism & sexism were in the past. I learned that wasn't true in horrible ways, but those experiences played a big part in starting to unravel the rest of the lies & partial truths. I suspect I haven't found them all yet. 8y