24°
I've been working on a project that requires me spending a lot of time researching racialized theme parties (like the University of Illinois' legendary "Tacos and Tequila"), and I am so sick of reading about white people doing stupid shit. It's just exhausting. I have to read about people arguing about free speech and sensitivity training and people arguing that everyone is too P.C.
I feel like we all need a history lesson. I am not qualified to give one, but the curriculum would deal with histories of white supremacy and cultural appropriation. It would understand that dressing up "Mexican" for a night is not a "fun" act that just happened out of nowhere. The thought, "Oh, I just thought I would dress up Mexican for the night!" is rooted in histories of privilege and subordination. And it has consequences that reverberate long afterthe event, as I'm sure everyone knows by now.
It's not about being P.C. although, I have always had an affinity for political correctness because of its acknowledgment of the historical significance of words. However I would say P.C. is a means of giving a shitty car a new paint job (if you don't mind car references). It doesn't fix the car (which in this case are the oppressive institutions that might get covered up by political correctness).
And for those people who say, "why don't they just leave it alone" ("they" usually referring to some mix of leftists, liberals, people of color, etc.) here's what I've got: to leave it alone is to be silent about all racist, classist, sexist and heterosexist representations that are thrown at us daily. For white people (speaking as a white person), I think it can oftentimes be difficult to understand the trauma of these representations. But it is. It is taxing to think about yourself as belonging to a historical moment or thinking about the weight your words might carry with them. And maybe I would feel better if I let all of that drop (or maybe I'd feel shitty, and that's why I can't let any of that drop). But let's just promise me that we aren't going to do or say anything stupid ever again.
Great.
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