Tuesday, February 12, 2019

F is for...

freeze frame, Fernando Poo, Ferdinand, furby's, fungi, fur, fresh hell, figures, faithlessness, Fargo fascist, forlorn, figuratively, father, Frodo, feathers, fig, flenser, fruit, fandom, furniture, frappe, fling, feisty, familiar, flowers, falafel, frabjous, flipping flapjacks, far and away, fathom, feminine, fez, fentanyl, Fandango, fix, finish, first, fib, fire, finger, frigid, fish, for/fore/four, fop, fob, fashion, foot, forget, forge, Fosse, fumble, frisk, freestyle, footloose & fancy-free...

so I've just been brainstorming and throwing out words to play with, and I found a few images I could use for several of them, but...meh.  so I think I'm going to have to go with:

FALSEHOOD

defined as "the state of being untrue".  fully fitting, given two of the comments I received on my last ABC post that I found problematic, which one participant chose to take further, and leave a hateful comment on another post I wrote, that speaks directly and specifically to the struggles people who share my ethnicity continue to face daily (while I don't think the commenter meant to be hateful, their comment was certainly uninformed, and rude).  maybe that's why I never finished a round?  I was already finding it a bit annoying that I make the time to go around and not only read, but comment on, All the links posted - because I thought that was the point of the group share...to build community, and forge connections.  but isn't that just the story of my life?  giving my energy away for free to those who don't return it?  the nature of those comments supposes a rather narrow world-view coupled with prejudice...the misinformation, and the smugness with which they get shared makes doing the work exhausting, but proves the necessity of continuing to tell The Truth.


in any case, not that's it's my job to educate people who don't seem to take the time to educate themselves, I thought I'd use this space to respond to those comments.

  1. not knowing G*psy is a racial slur - IT IS.  period.  google "G*psy is a racial slur".  I've written about this on here before, and I suspect I will write about it again.  I have posted multiple links, multiple times.  there is no further excuse for Anyone to come on this blog and comment otherwise.  and now you know.
  2. most Romani people are settled, and have been for generations.  the hurtful/hateful negatively stereotypical myth of 'the wandering, nomadic G*psy' is a romanticized version of an entire group of people being forced to flee for their lives, over and over again, to avoid slavery, persecution, and genocide.  this falsehood also negatively affects those known as Travellers (a different ethnic group entirely, though we are frequently lumped together), who do tend to lead a nomadic lifestyle due to the nature of their work, and who suffer from laws that criminalize their traditions.
  3. claiming 'color-blindness' or an aversion to 'labels' does not relieve one of the social responsibility to recognize systemic racism, or privilege, within one's world/country/state/town/community/home/personal thoughts and practices.  we have come a long way with women's rights, civil rights, equal rights, human rights, LGBTQ and Trans rights, immigrants' rights, and the rights of those I've unintentionally left out...too far to go backwards, now.  such statements reinforce the fact that one group enjoys a certain privilege over many others - it's time for all good people to rectify that situation in every way, and that work starts at home.
  4. no one gets brownie points for pointing out how 'nice' they are - that should be the baseline across the board, not something to wave as a flag of token ally-ship.  sure, 'treat others as you would like to be treated', but in today's day and age, that means acting to tear down the systems that hold millions in a cycle of poverty and oppression.  pretending otherwise is tantamount to being complicit in these practices.
  5. insisting that there will always be prejudice in the world, and that there's no way to change it simply means, "I enjoy the benefits of a racist system, and I'm not going to do a thing to change that because my life is suitably comfortable."  humans are fully capable of making change, as we have proven time and again, and we will continue to do so, even in the face of violent attacks, and in many cases, death.  history speaks for itself.
  6. 'Classical music' is defined as a European musical tradition lasting from approximately 1750-1830.  a broader definition can reach as far back as the 1400's, but still completely negates the ancient musical traditions of Mesopotamia, India, Persia, Egypt, China, Greece, Rome, and all 54 (+2) countries on the African Continent.  to assert that classical music is the root of ALL music is an incredibly narrow view through which to be seeing, and suggests a deep lack of historical knowledge of more subjects than just music. 

I hope I've managed to let a few nuggets of information into a dark room, here, though experience teaches me it's more likely to have made some people very angry.  good.  the dominant paradigm needs to get used to both being challenged on their outdated presumptions, and feeling somewhat uncomfortable as their positions of privilege in a decaying system begin to crumble and fall.  it wasn't all fun and games for me, either, when I realized how much I benefitted from those same systems that held my friends down, but I've learned a lot, and will continue to learn more as we come together and move forward as an extended global family.

click here to go to the ABC-Wednesday website - click here to see all participating blogs

22 comments:

  1. Talking about race and ethnicity is difficult. I did just today - not for ABC Wednesday, mind you - it's difficult, even among people of good will. It probably took a decade for my church to really grasp the notion of privilege, e.g. There was a great guest preacher this week, and the sermon was about the good Samaritan, how difficult it was to tend to someone whose group doesn't think well of you - and though she didn't say - I imagine vice versa. She also talked about the courage to speak your truth. So, as they used to say, keep on keeping on.

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    1. thanks for understanding, Roger - and GREAT perspective and writing about Northam and the potential for change. I completely agree. I watched a Ted talk once by a Jewish woman who not only began a rapport with a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, but ended up marrying him after he left that community. we Can recognize the error of our ways, and move forward as more integrated humans.

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  2. And thanks for your comment. Let me say this: I was a bit afraid of posting the VA piece, because people can be...well, people. But, to my surprise, most responses have been quite positive. The irony is that Black History Month doesn't have to deal with 1619 or 1865 or 1963 but a much more recent, painful history.

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    1. I post every day of the month about Black history/herstory/theirstory on facebook with the tag 'Black history everyday' (or sometimes simply 'American history', because they really are the stories this country was built on), and I do my best to cover a wide range of dates, and topics. once I had my eyes opened about how I contributed to the oppression of others while believing I was an ally, I couldn't ever Not see the system in action again. now I'm always looking for ways to do more.

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  3. I'm post once a week, on Friday, this month. Here's the first.

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    1. wow...another great post about a difficult subject. I think I left a comment, but I might have messed it up in my rush to 'submit' it...

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    2. You DID comment, but it posted as Anonymous. I can change that, if you would like.

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    3. oh, good - either way, as long as it posted!

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  4. Mama Pajama, Marvin Gage once asked “What’s Going On”.

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    1. yes he did - I, too, do my best to bring understanding to those who judge, and do it with love in my heart. for too many, though, 'love' is a concept reserved for a special few, rather than for all. thanks for visiting!

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  5. Very thoughtful post. I learned a few things, so kudos to you. I personally have some very racist friends who use the old, some of my very best friends are black, so I can’t be racist type statements and yet post hateful crap online. Or they will say, well you know, black people had their Martin Luther King and so they are okay now and its like open up your eyes. Yes, they have lots of civil rights than what they did, but they are way behind economically and it is for a reason. Anyway, don’t misunderstand me. I am not claiming to be some sort of enlightened person because i am not but I try and keep an open mind and more importantly open eyes. Take care and have a good week.

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    1. thanks so much for visiting, and I'm glad this post was helpful to you! we can all do our best to keep open minds, and it's for the benefit of all that we do so - I wish you a wonderful week as well.

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  6. Mama PJ,

    Unfortuantely, we do live in a world where these things exist. I don't understand it but it's there. I not judge someone because they are different from me. I'm no better than they are and they are no better than me. In God's eyes we're all equal. If mankind treated one another with respect and love like the golden rule says then we'd be a lot happier world. Change begin with all of us and if we do our part then you'd think it would catch on like a wildfire. :)

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    1. the eradication of racism goes far beyond "treating one another with respect and love" - it begins with learning to recognize and understand your own privilege. then you might want to examine your biases, and figure out where they come from. you might also want to validate the experiences and feelings of people of color, and stop pretending you don't see the issues they face. feigning 'colorblindness', or using statements like 'I don't see color' contribute to the problem, erases people's identity, and dismisses the real injustice that many people are forced to deal with daily as a result of these pervasive attitudes.

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  7. Seemlingly racisme grows… and that thought is frightening… aren't we all alike? A living creature that has become this planet as a gift to live on?

    Have a splendid, ♥-warming ABC-Wednes-day / -week at https://abcwednesday.com
    ♫ M e l d y ♪ (ABC-W-team)
    http://melodyk.nl/24-F

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    1. we are all alike - and we need to stand up for each other, or the problem will continue to grow. thanks for visiting!

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  8. “Which Martin Luther King Jr. will we celebrate? There is a comfortable Martin Luther King Jr. and there is a challenging Martin Luther King Jr.

    “The comfortable Martin Luther King Jr. gave only one speech in his life, and we’re required to quote one line from that one speech…

    “The challenging Martin Luther King Jr. was a relentless critic of American foreign policy, racism and an economic system which left so many destitute…

    “The challenging Martin Luther King Jr. makes us uncomfortable in our complacency and asks that we live out the courage of our convictions.

    “The comfortable King has a dream. The challenging King knows the dream has yet to be realized and much work is still to be done.

    “The comfortable King is the one we celebrate at the expense of the challenging King.”

    https://www.rogerogreen.com/2019/01/15/comfortable-challenging-martin-luther-king-jr/

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    1. YES! important truth right there, Roger - thanks for sharing!

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  9. Very contemplative post for F ~ thanks, ^_^

    Happy Day to you,
    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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    1. you're welcome, Carol - and thanks for visiting!

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  10. Thanks for valuable information..
    PS. Thanks for visiting my blog.

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    1. you're very welcome - and thanks for returning the visit!

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