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Dec. 12th, 2008 01:11 amI rarely comment on the feminist blogs I read; it's some side effect of the social anxiety thing, that when I'm in an arena where I worry other people know more than me and will thus be able to see ignorance I didn't know existed in my words, I get antsy and just shut up. Although, honestly, if more people did that on their initial forays into activist theory, the world would be a lot awesomer.
Aaaaand I'm rambling already. Anyway I was reading Feministe earlier, and the story that's been circulating for a few days about a teacher who bound two black female students to teach her class about slavery finally showed up there. Reading the comments, I came across one that touched on an issue that's been on my mind lately. Thus:
I struggle - and it is a struggle, for me, because a large part of my anxiety stems from not wanting to be seen as an inconvenience - daily with this concept, that when someone wrongs me if I speak up I am doing something wrong. Somehow, the people whose biggest problem in the privilege system is being criticized for stomping on anything that will prevent them benefiting at other people's expense have convinced everyone else that criticizing is a more heinous offense than the stomping. You don't have to look any farther than the contempt surrounding "PC" - all political correctness is, really, is not using phraseology you know to be offensive.
And yet the mainstream response to "x term is offensive" is more likely to be "OH GOD HERE COME THE PC POLICE" than "gee, sorry I offended you."
There is nothing bad, or wrong, or shameful, or weak, about taking offense, and yet it's become codified in our culture that being offended is a crime in and of itself. And I, for one, am going to struggle, and examine, and push like Hell against my internalization of that idea until the day comes I don't feel like standing up and saying "your sexist bullshit is offensive" is likely to have more repercussions than the sexist bullshit.
You?
Aaaaand I'm rambling already. Anyway I was reading Feministe earlier, and the story that's been circulating for a few days about a teacher who bound two black female students to teach her class about slavery finally showed up there. Reading the comments, I came across one that touched on an issue that's been on my mind lately. Thus:
I am not insensitive to the girl’s feelings, but as a parent of a young girl, I hope I am teaching her to be emotionally strong and to learn to deal with the situations she may one day face, including potentially traumatizing ones.
I was just talking with a friend about how troubling it is that the norm seems to be one should feel bad merely for being offended, that simply for being wronged, you are in fact wrong. Being hurt by something hurtful is not a sign of weakness, nor is it a character flaw, and I only hope I can teach the children I have any influence over that there is nothing wrong with speaking up when you are harmed - in any way.
As a society, we’d probably move a lot farther a lot faster if it wasn’t considered desirable to ignore wrongdoing in the name of “strength”.
I struggle - and it is a struggle, for me, because a large part of my anxiety stems from not wanting to be seen as an inconvenience - daily with this concept, that when someone wrongs me if I speak up I am doing something wrong. Somehow, the people whose biggest problem in the privilege system is being criticized for stomping on anything that will prevent them benefiting at other people's expense have convinced everyone else that criticizing is a more heinous offense than the stomping. You don't have to look any farther than the contempt surrounding "PC" - all political correctness is, really, is not using phraseology you know to be offensive.
And yet the mainstream response to "x term is offensive" is more likely to be "OH GOD HERE COME THE PC POLICE" than "gee, sorry I offended you."
There is nothing bad, or wrong, or shameful, or weak, about taking offense, and yet it's become codified in our culture that being offended is a crime in and of itself. And I, for one, am going to struggle, and examine, and push like Hell against my internalization of that idea until the day comes I don't feel like standing up and saying "your sexist bullshit is offensive" is likely to have more repercussions than the sexist bullshit.
You?
