After doing the readings and watching the video for this
week I felt as if I had just taken in so much valuable information but was not
really sure how to process it all and turn it into a blog post. At first, I
felt really empowered to write about what I had just read and watched, but then
I started to feel angry about all these issues and just decided to push it the
side and deal with it later. That seems to be a recurrent theme for me lately-
not only because Donald Trump is president, but also because it is just a
reminder that there are a lot of people who agree with him and actually voted
for him. It is easier to just not deal with the anger and sadness I feel
towards the whole situation, especially as a person of color and the daughter
of an immigrant, and just go about my day. But after listening to Junot Diaz’s
interview and hearing him talk about how we have to put ourselves in those
people’s shoes who are directly affected by discriminatory acts and policies, I
realized that this was not the right mentality to have. In order to make a
difference, we all have to turn this anger into productivity towards creating
an inclusive and united society.
I found the first chapter of Allan G. Johnson’s book, Privilege, Power, and Difference to be
very in-touch with the issues going on in today’s society. His acknowledgment that
the use of such words as “racism, white, and even worse, white racism” cause a sense of defensiveness
and irritability, especially in white people, gave me a perspective that I don’t
often hear about. I often get so wrapped up in my own feelings of anger and
sadness when I hear such words that I don’t often think of the feelings white
people feel when they hear those words or how it might make them feel uncomfortable
when I go on rants about the injustices people are going face because Donald Trump
is president. After the election I realized that I was completely blind to the
fact that such a vast amount of people actually supported him. I don’t know if
it was because I have lived in Austin my whole life or because I have surrounded
myself with people who have similar views as me, but his win really took me by
surprise. While I had a lot of anger at first, the unity I saw with the
protests and the women’s march turned that anger to hope and restored my faith
that there are a lot of people who felt a similar sense of frustration as I
did. It made me realize that while the situation we are in right now is tough,
there are a lot of people who are coming together to make a difference. While
it might be easier to just ignore all of these issues to avoid the feelings of
anger and sadness, it is important to remember that some people do not have the
option to do so because it is their reality.
Joanna, thanks for sharing your experience about the new political climate and the background that shapes your beliefs. I too felt like I gained perspective on inclusive and kinder rhetoric to use when talking about race with white people. At one of the social work agencies I volunteered at, there was a POC group member of a coalition I monitored that considered himself an activist of social justice issues. However, the language he used and broad-stereotyping of white people in his efforts to spark dialogue deterred many of the white members. They did feel defensive, attacked, and confused by the judgement placed up on them. It’s important to realize that white people can be activists as well, and using dialogue that is inviting and non-judgmental to keep or recruit white allies on the side of social justice is important in using the privileges they possess to spread activism.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up in Austin probably would put you in a leftist bubble (less so than living in a blue city within a blue state all your life, since in Austin you get to hear discourse from surrounding red cities). It’s important that we expose ourselves to the concerns of those who opted to vote for a president, despite not fulling agreeing with where policies stand against the NASW’s stances on social justice issues. It’s a struggle listening to some of the bigotry and oppressive rhetoric of some of these right-winged views, but through exposure, getting to know others, and equipping ourselves with the knowledge necessary to speak up for ourselves and others, the fight in helping all members of our society is not lost. I’ve been finding bipartisan news channels like PBS News Hour to help (and when I’m feeling extra reality tv-ish, CNN has correspondents battle it out from both left and right wing views). I hope you continue staying inspired, Joanna!