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I'm a little slow about some things. Politics, gender, social justice, religion, and racism come to mind as being or containing issues that I've been struggling with recently. Nothing too serious. ;-)
This is the second International Blog Against Racism Week I've been around for on livejournal. I was impressed last year at both the courage and the thought that went into the various posts I read. I was scared to death to post myself, because 1)What do I have to say and 2)Couldn't someone else say it better? I want to make some kind of post this year because I just don't want to remain silent and accepting.
I always had the idea, growing up, that our race issues were in the past, and that only stupid people still believed that people could be inferior because of the color of their skin. I had no idea about the problems that still plagued our society with regards to race. I had no concept of a privilege I inherited because I was white. I really thought that, given a group of applicants for a job, the job should (and most times, would) go to whomever deserved it, without understanding the complexities behind an unfair market, unfair education, unfair location, etc.
It was only through being dragged kicking and screaming into feminism (another story for another day) that I was able to see and understand the way racism works now, today, and why it matters, and that yes, it still exists, and that I'm part of the problem. I still have NO CLUE what I'm doing here, but I know that there's a lot to learn and a lot to change.
This isn't a long post, because other people HAVE said it better, and know what they're talking about. *g* All I'm saying is that I acknowledge there's a problem, that I'm not the best judge of what that problem is, and that there's more to do.
This is the second International Blog Against Racism Week I've been around for on livejournal. I was impressed last year at both the courage and the thought that went into the various posts I read. I was scared to death to post myself, because 1)What do I have to say and 2)Couldn't someone else say it better? I want to make some kind of post this year because I just don't want to remain silent and accepting.
I always had the idea, growing up, that our race issues were in the past, and that only stupid people still believed that people could be inferior because of the color of their skin. I had no idea about the problems that still plagued our society with regards to race. I had no concept of a privilege I inherited because I was white. I really thought that, given a group of applicants for a job, the job should (and most times, would) go to whomever deserved it, without understanding the complexities behind an unfair market, unfair education, unfair location, etc.
It was only through being dragged kicking and screaming into feminism (another story for another day) that I was able to see and understand the way racism works now, today, and why it matters, and that yes, it still exists, and that I'm part of the problem. I still have NO CLUE what I'm doing here, but I know that there's a lot to learn and a lot to change.
This isn't a long post, because other people HAVE said it better, and know what they're talking about. *g* All I'm saying is that I acknowledge there's a problem, that I'm not the best judge of what that problem is, and that there's more to do.
