feydras
Interesting thread. I’ve mostly poked around and lurked on these forums but the temptation to throw out my 2 cents of hot air has overwhelmed me. I’ll try to keep them to the topic at hand. It’s a long post so if you are like me you’ll likely just skim it.
I tend to fall in with the levels of discrimination group i guess. Kaleigh’s bandaid arguement is pretty compelling and i think a nice illustration.
I’d like to add an example from a friend of mine. She is black and was pulled over by the police for driving a little fast. In this area many people speed. Her interpretation of it is that she was ticketed for being black. Mine was that she was speeding. I was annoyed at her tirade against ‘whitey’ (my word) but later thinking on it realized that if i was faced with so much unseen discrimination it would be easy to start wondering about it every time someone treated me bad. Like NR’s black woman in line at the cafe. Hard to not start seeing it everywhere. Sure, as TheHouse points out it is far more healthy and functional to not fall into that victim role but i know i am not self-actualized enough to never do that.
I think JT’s intro to this thread was well stated but i too can definitely see the desire for a historically persecuted group to have a safe, exclusive space. However, i also have no problem with TheHouse’s exclusive group, even were it not a joke/point. I think it’s perfectly fair for a social group to identify themselves however they want. Doesn’t mean i won’t badtalk them, but i won’t deny their right to exist. Where i draw the line is if that group is attempting to move against my rights or freedoms.
Years ago a friend made separatist feminist communities comprehensable to me by explaining that sometimes you may need to remove yourselves entirely from normal societal space just to begin to understand your identity.
New Resident – It strikes me as very odd that i am so often reading posts accusing NR of never facing discrimination. Even her own posts tend to agree to that. I find that hard to believe. I suspect that as a woman she is likely faced with far more discrimination than she may even be aware of. Seems to me Male priviledge is roughly as insidious as White priviledge. Just in this thread (and many others) she is frequently harrassed for being a Republican. Something that is a pretty maligned group in much of Seattle. A lot of nasty comments and assumptions have used this as an excuse. It always amazes me that so many liberals find it so acceptable to hate (and i mean hate, not just criticise) Republicans instead of hating their policies. Often they are hating them for the very things that they are themselves doing, like being closed minded.
TheHouse – I appreciate your attempts to make a point and i appreciate more your ability to “stir the pot” whether that is your intention or not. If you never stir the pot the scum settles on the top. I confess i haven’t read all the posts referred to but in your S West Seattle.. thread and in this one you seem quite reasonable to me.
Shibaguyz – i found your tirade about dogs and the farmer’s market very whiney (damn, got way off topic!). That said, i was pleasantly surprised to find that your comments on this thread and the others were IMO intelligent and straightforward. In any case, you seem to be a positive force of community building around here and that’s pretty cool. Also, i can see your point that this conversation has gone off topic in that you were never even proposing an exclusive space.
JenV – I gotta say it. All that anger’s gonna eat you up.
Lastly, i’m bummed i missed the BPP get together as i love talking with people and drinking and that is my favorite pub. If anyone actually read through this whole post then i owe you a beer* for your patience and your kind, if foolish feeding of my ego.
*disclaimer – supplies of poster’s cash is limited, likely to one before running out of money!