Esoterica
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This work by Mikki Kendall is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
 
 
 

oh my god, guys

wildunicornherd:

I move in political circles that are nearly completely white. And these (white) people are perfectly content keeping it that way. They don’t notice, much less care, that their scene is homogeneous. They live in a white bubble where they don’t have to think about anything else. Fine, whatever.

But recent events have brought race to the forefront and everyone’s talking about problems facing racialized communities and now these people I know in real life are talking about race

Scar "I'm surrounded by idiots" gif

and they’re like “once I was the only white person in the club and it was AWFUL, racism affects everyone” and “when I was in Japan kids called me a gaijin, what do you mean POC can’t be racist against white people” and “how will I learn if you don’t educate me” and I’m like

Will Smith: "I'm sorry, I'm allergic to bullshit"

OH GOD SHUT UP SHUT UP JUST STOP TALKING.

like it’s great if there are other people willing to take the time and explain things like you’re five, but I am done with this, it’s fine if we’re not on the same page but we’re not even in the same BOOK because you’re reading The Help or some shit.

I am not going to hold hands and sing kumbaya if you can’t recognize that racism is systemic, white people run shit, and that one time someone said mean words is not on the same level as people bombing or murdering or jailing or deporting or experimenting on people who look like you for centuries. Major papers will never run op-eds or political cartoons suggesting that gun violence is a white problem, or that white people are taking over, or that misogyny is especially dangerous when white people do it.

When I say these things to the people I know in everyday life I sound like an irrational, angry, unforgiving bitch. I probably am. I don’t fucking care any more. I’m tired of compartmentalizing my life and overlooking how white certain spaces are. I’m tired of white feminism. I don’t want to be patient. What, you’re 30 and you just started learning about racism? Maybe it’s because you live in a goddamn bubble and you never cared enough to change that. I am tired of being patient.

My ex says, “You should give people the benefit of the doubt.” They’re probably right.

The difference between—like if I say these things here people will probably think I’m making sense. But other places, oh my god I have gone beyond the pale what’s wrong with me. The radical opposition of these two worlds is driving me insane. As in I’m actually questioning my sanity because I am having trouble distinguishing what is real and what is not. Maybe I just imagined things.

*grinds teeth down to powder*

Why am I alienating my friends? (Well, white friends, I guess; it remains to be seen what everyone else thinks of me. Maybe they think I overstepped my bounds, too.)

Why can’t I control myself?

Am I insane?

Should I just shut up and go away?

 
 
A Pony on the Balcony: My Complicated Mourning (re Adrienne Rich)

wildunicornherd:

poemsofthedead:

DO NOT READ THE ONE COMMENT UNLESS YOU WANT TO FEEL COMPELLED TO PUNCH REPEATEDLY IN THE FACE THE NEAREST WHITE WOMAN.

But I really enjoyed/appreciated this post.

Also, a thought on this part:

Does it matter? Yes. It matters because we salute her contribution, but if she had spoken out against the inclusion of African-American women or suggested that Jewish women or Latinas were somehow less than human, we would talk about that. We would critique that.

Because I do not know the author, but I wonder (out loud to my cat, even), “WHO IS THIS MAGICAL ‘We’???” Because… well… because that shit happens ALL THE TIME still today and a whole lot of feminists do NOT speak out, do not critique it, and actively uphold it. So I’d really really love it if well-meaning people didn’t act like the world has it’s racist shit together and trans* issues are “the new racism” or whatever.

yeeeeeeeeeeeah that was where I stopped reading because I fucking hate that argument.

“if someone said that about black people”

NEWSFLASH! THAT SHIT GETS SAID ABOUT BLACK PEOPLE ALL THE TIME AND NO ONE GETS CALLED ON IT

I’M SORRY, YOUR CONNECTION TO REALITY IS TOO TENUOUS FOR ME TO CONTINUE PAYING ATTENTION TO YOU

 
 
Can we just accept that fact that being poor, and being on public assistance, means you aren’t eating well right now? That the steak and lobster buying food stamp recipient is a straw person? That people on public assistance are not living high on the hog? And that it’s a crying shame that the assistance people get is not enough? You know, call me a communist, but I would love it if people on public assistance could afford to buy the occasional skirt steak, salmon, pork tenderloin or package of dried mushrooms along with their regular food purchases if they wanted to. I think people should be able to feed themselves and their kids consistently throughout the month. I have a problem with the idea that we seem to require poor people to eat gruel and wear rags. If my tax dollars are going to help people, goddammit, I want them to be able to get enough help to eat well. It beats the hell out of what my tax dollars usually go to.

You can just… — Feministe (via lemdi)

It’s kind of sad that wanting people, regardless of their financial situation, to be able to enjoy life in some small way opens yourself up to being called a communist. Not that it is really an insult, it’s just sad that being decent is such an anomaly.

(via liquidiousfleshbag)

I will not look at a Feministe food thread. I will not look at a Feministe food thread. I will not—*clicks* GOD DAMN IT

(via wildunicornherd)

That #awkwardmoment when you realize you’re linked on Feministe.

 
 
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