Brief Report Back Saturday 11/14 "What Will White Womyn Do To End Racism?"

White Privilege on the screen!

We began with seeking agreement to two fundamental tenets of anti-racism:

1)      All white people are racist

2)      White people need to hold ourselves accountable for both our own and other white people’s racism education and for doing work and being responsible for dismantling of racism

1)      If all white people are racist, how does that apply to saints like Mother Theresa? White people’s “comfort” in being in the “helping” poor ‘savages’ role vs dismantling the catholic church and corporate intentional designs to impoverish people

2)      Role modeling for other white people how we respond when called on our racism: “I’m sorry, I hear you, I will never do that again” and how we share this experience with other white people and together come to deep understanding. 

Coming to an understanding of racism including the lies and myths we were not only taught but benefitted from, does not happen in a vacuum but is accompanied by many feelings: guilt, shame, anger, disappointment, discomfort, helplessness, sorrow, etc. If we’re NOT feeling some of these feelings then we’re probably not doing the work we need to be doing.

We discussed our responsibility and strategies for addressing those older white womyn and the white millennials who voted for tRump. The tRump mindset that believes science is wrong, facts are wrong. Role modeling different approaches from “I hear you and let me ask you this” to “tRump is bad for womyn and you deserve more” to “these are the facts” to “you’re being fuckin racist” – and which approaches accomplish your goals and when.

We also talked about the difficulties dialoging with poor white womyn. Tackling stereotypes and beliefs: white people are the poorest or poverty doesn’t exist for white people; Black and brown people are threatening at least economically to poor white people, if not in all other ways.  

White people living under the poverty line verses white people poor because they’ve strived for the amerikkkan fuckin nitemare and are sliding down that vicious slope of being in huge debt.

Again we dialogued around how to address the myriad of ways white people have to shut down, escape merely discussion of racism: talking about white privilege pisses white people off; affirmative action also – Californians just voted down reinstating affirmative action as giving unfair advantage to those who are unfairly disadvantaged by institutional racism and historic genocide, oppression, slavery.

White privilege and how much we want to deny it, how it pushes our white fragility buttons. Yet no white person starts with “nothing”; “hard work”, including who really works hardest in this country, undermining myth of the level playing field, the notion that hard work brings same rewards for everyone, etc.

We are a nation of immigrants – and original Indigenous inhabitants who’ve survived genocide – yet especially poor white people want immigrant status only for them & their ancestors.

We challenged our covid-stifling opportunities, the “not much to do” to confront racism, putting on a different pair of glasses and seeing the predominance of white people, or only white people, in our neighborhood, work, community as racist and reconditioning ourselves to see it and commit to confronting it.

This week’s “to do” list and discussion around strategies for dismantling racism:

·         We can still stand on corner weekly/daily/hourly holding “Black Lives Matter” signs

·         Support campaigning for, contributing financially to support Black womyn leadership

·    Acknowledging racism by putting on that different pair of glasses seeing it, bringing it up, challenging it in all white or mostly white settings

·         Treat everyone fairly – and what exactly that looks like on the table for next week

·         Think before we speak: listen, acknowledge, tell the truth

·         Make conversation centering racism

·         Call ourselves and each other out

·         Make sure “patriarchy” includes racism

·         Become (even more) active

Readings/resources:

Podcast “Call Your GirlFriend”

https://www.callyourgirlfriend.com/episodes/2020/11/06/election-2020-heather-mcghee

 

White Awake https://whiteawake.org/

Next week on the screen:

    ThanksTaking & white gratitude