Taking an (at least in my opinion) well-earned day recovering from EB2013 and SXMAR2013, I spent a good part of it looking over these entertaining blogs.
I'm a bit torn. Racism and sexism (like other -isms, capitalism, socialism, etc.) are societal structures that have, over our lifetimes, been cultivated in every one of us (try the Harvard Implicit Association Tests if you haven't already). I'm not convinced that labeling individuals as "racists" (so that you can then peace out on them) is productive: it implies that racism is something that can be isolated, and exists in some individuals, and not others, and all we have to do to solve racism is to stay away from those bad people. I'm not the only person who thinks this: I've even heard the hypothesis that a good deal of the racial problems we continue to have in America today can be traced to the fact that Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (a book I love, by the way), which trades in the only-bad-people-are-racists view, is considered the definitive Great American Novel about race and is required reading in many schools, while Uncle Tom's Cabin (a book I haven't read, but this is how the hypothesis goes), which trades in the racism-is-a-structure view, is not.
On the other hand, I'm extremely sympathetic to the idea that denouncing racism and misogyny is more important than considering racists' and misogynists' feelings. Racism and misogyny are much more offensive than being imperfectly polite while pointing out that people are being racist and misogynist. And, to paraphrase Prof. Richard Dawkins, when someone calls you "shrill" (or the worse, more specifically misogynist words leveled at MTFOB), what they really mean is that they're unable to criticize the content of your message.
On the third hand: I think tone actually is really important when trying to communicate. (I've been thinking about this more recently in the context of science communication: starting off with a I've-been-in-school-for-decades-and-know-more-than-you-mortals-ever-will is not a good strategy.) I don't know if anyone has ever actually been persuaded to change their ways by statements like “FUCK YOU, you piece of shit racist"; maybe something like, "Hey, did you know the word 'gyp' comes from the word 'gypsie' and perpetuates negative stereotypes about certain groups of people being untrustworthy? No? But now you do, so now you know when you use that word you might offend people: maybe the word 'swindle' would better convey what you actually mean" would be more effective. No one has ever regretted taking the high road.
But (and now we come to synthesis): I think it's extremely important not to let the perfect be the enemy of the good. If someone says something racist or misogynist, I think the most important thing is to speak up: not just to let the person saying it know that that's not cool, but, more importantly, to signal to everyone else who heard that person say the racist or misogynist thing that you don't approve. If you have to choose between letting the moment slip by because you can't think of the perfectly crafted message, or just spitting something out that, in hindsight, could have been better phrased, choose the latter. It's pretty likely that the person you're speaking to will get nasty (no one likes being accused of being racist or misogynist), but this is noble work, and the more everyone speaks up, the more socially acceptable it will be and the easier it will be for everyone.
It just takes four words: "Hey, that's not cool."
No comments:
Post a Comment