on (dis)ableism

So I've been reading the blogs for Blogging Against Disablism Day 2009 and I'm overwhelmed with the daily violences enacted through ableism. So much of ableism seems to be connected to a capitalistic understanding of the body, i.e. the body is a tool for generating capital in the world as constructed by temporarily able bodied people. There's no understanding or room for folks who challenge the very structure of our social structure with the ways they move (or don't) through the world.

I've been trying to imagine a different world, one in which "work" was not assumed to be a requirement for anyone. Instead of thinking in terms of what people can do, it would be about how people care for one another and the earth. How can we each do a bit to care for each other and help sustain each other and help sustain the things that help sustain us (plants, animals, ecosystems, etc.)? A radical decentering of humans is necessary, and even how we understand humanity has to shift too right?

Critiques of temporarily able bodied or nondisabled bodied folks fears of disability, particularly drugs and disability, really reached me. I wonder about my own problematic beliefs about drugs and my desire not to use them, my own belief in an evil consumerist big pharma selling sickness to the world. And I wonder if this might be a both/and. That I am both ableist in my thinking that I'm a wimp for needing tylenol for cramps every month but biomedical interests need some serious critique for testing in Africa, patenting plant compounds that indegenous communities have been using for centuries, and over medicating the world. Isn't some disability the by product of oppressive capitalism and other isms, like racism, sexism, and ageism?

As today was also May Day, Labor Day, International Workers' Rights Day, I was thinking about the connections between the two and how these blog communities seem so segregated. Race is rarely mentioned in these disability blogs. Class, gender, and even sexuality come through more clearly than race. Yet if we investigate, we see that most of these bloggers are white. Most of these bloggers live in the US and UK. Race matters. This always makes me wonder.

I have a lot of people in my family with disabilities, though none of them would consider themselves disabled. In talking with another radical woman of color, it seems that disability is so the "norm" in our communities, it's often not marked as an identity unto itself. I often wonder about what a release it might be for women of color to see disability as a framework that intersects with race and gender, to not always feel the need to keep fighting, even when it hurts, to let go of the ways that we as cis and trans women of color in particular, have taken up ableism in ways that reproduce harm to ourselves and the communities we "work" so hard and care for. Why does disability mostly look white?

And while it seems so necessary, to bring these movements and experiences together, to use an intersectional lens, I think it's so important that we don't flatten out difference when we look for similarities. I think we are so use to ticking off that ever expanding list of race, sex, class, gender, sexuality, age, dis/ability, indigeniety, etc. we forget that intersection does not necessarily mean equal or parallel. While there may be no hierarchy of oppression, I think that there are ways in which our tendency to compare racism to ableism to sexism to homophobia can make us miss the nuances and the unique ways each of those plays out in the unique constellation of individual lives.

This is why I'm so excited to be a part of this blog community. I think this is proving to be a space where we all see the situatedness of our analysis and yet we still reach for each other and understand the value of each others' standpoint. I'm ever hopeful these days and I thank you all for contributing to my optimism.

more on whiteness

deep!

Please Sign!

To: The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

This petition has been launched to object to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' announcement that it will give Jerry Lewis its Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Oscar Awards ceremony on February 22, 2009.

During his decades of hosting the Labor Day Telethon, Jerry Lewis has helped to perpetuate negative, stereotypical attitudes toward people with muscular dystrophy and other disabilities. Jerry Lewis and the Telethon actively promote pity as a fundraising strategy. Disabled people want RESPECT and RIGHTS, not pity and charity.

In 1990, Lewis wrote that if he had muscular dystrophy and had to use a wheelchair, he would "just have to learn to try to be good at being a half a person." During the 1992 Telethon, he said that people with MD, whom he always insists on calling "my kids," "cannot go into the workplace. There's nothing they can do." Comments like these have led disability activists and our allies to protest against Jerry Lewis. We've argued that he uses the Telethon to promote pity, a counterproductive emotion which undermines our social equality. Here's how Lewis responded to the Telethon protesters during a 2001 television interview: "Pity? You don't want to be pitied because you're a cripple in a wheelchair? Stay in your house!"

Jerry Lewis has also made derogatory comments about women and gay men. His outdated attitudes and crude remarks are dehumanizing, not humanitarian.

Therefore, we the undersigned support the actions and arguments of the coalition group The Trouble with Jerry. We protest the Academy's characterization of Jerry Lewis as a "humanitarian." And we ask that the Academy cancel its plans to give Lewis the Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

View Current Signatures

Home for the holidays

 

it's always a strange thing to come home; this year in particular was particularly trying but I'm the stronger for it. I feel better than i did before i came. I've been getting good sleep and eating better than i have in a long while. It's nice to take care of myself a little bit.

I can't believe i've had a quarter century on this planet and i've been through some changes. I'm looking forward to what else is in store.

Buster's School of Magic Tricks

I love the Message!

WTF?!

Capitalism kills!

This is your nation on white privilege by Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you'll “kick their fuckin' ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”


White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office--since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s--while if you're black and believe in reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), you're a dangerous and mushy liberal who isn't fit to safeguard American institutions.


White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you.


White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto is “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you're black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.


White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do--like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor--and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college and the fact that she lives near Russia, you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.


White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”


White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.


White privilege is when you can take nearly twenty-four hours to get to a hospital after beginning to leak amniotic fluid, and still be viewed as a great mom whose commitment to her children is unquestionable, and whose "next door neighbor" qualities make her ready to be VP, while if you're a black candidate for president and you let your children be interviewed for a few seconds on TV, you're irresponsibly exploiting them.

White privilege is being able to give a 36-minute speech in which you talk about lipstick and make fun of your opponent, while laying out no substantive policy positions on any issue at all, and still manage to be considered a legitimate candidate, while a black person who gives an hour speech the week before, in which he lays out specific policy proposals on several issues, is still criticized for being too vague about what he would do if elected.

White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.


White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.


White privilege is being able to go to a prestigious prep school, then to Yale and Harvard Business School (George W. Bush), and still be seen as an "average guy," while being black, going to a prestigious prep school, then Occidental College, then Columbia, and then Harvard Law, makes you "uppity" and a snob who probably looks down on regular folks.

White privilege is being able to graduate near the bottom of your college class (McCain), or graduate with a C average from Yale (W.), and that's OK, and you're still cut out to be president, but if you're black and you graduate near the top of your class from Harvard Law, you can't be trusted to make good decisions in office.

White privilege is being able to dump your first wife after she's disfigured in a car crash so you can take up with a multi-millionaire beauty queen (who you then go on to call the c-word in public) and still be thought of as a man of strong family values, while if you're black and married for nearly 20 years to the same woman, your family is viewed as un-American and your gestures of affection for each other are called "terrorist fist bumps."

White privilege is when you can develop a pain-killer addiction, having obtained your drug of choice illegally like Cindy McCain, go on to beat that addiction, and everyone praises you for being so strong, while being a black guy who smoked pot a few times in college and never became an addict means people will wonder if perhaps you still get high, and even ask whether or not you may have sold drugs at some point.

White privilege is being able to sing a song about bombing Iran and still be viewed as a sober and rational statesman, with the maturity to be president, while being black and suggesting that the U.S. should speak with other nations, even when we have disagreements with them, makes you dangerously naive and immature.

White privilege is being able to say that you hate "gooks" and "will always hate them," and yet, you aren't a racist because, ya know, you were a POW, so you're entitled to your hatred, while being black and noting that black anger about racism is understandable, given the history of your country, makes you a dangerous bigot.

White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism and an absent father is apparently among the "lesser adversities" faced by other politicians, as Sarah Palin explained in her convention speech.

And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain…


White privilege is, in short, the problem.

An Open Letter to White Progressives and Activists

We write this letter to all those white people concerned with social justice. Who
are you? You are social workers and teachers, and artists and organizers. You work
in multiracial organizations and non-profits, and you work for queer rights, with
incarcerated youth, and with women in domestic violence shelters. You offer medical
aid to migrants crossing the border, media arts programs to high school students, and
legal counsel to housing rights organizations. You're angry about climate change and
environmental devastation – with poor and working class communities the hardest hit.
You're frustrated about longstanding educational inequities. More than this, you are
passionate about change, hopeful for transformation, and open to personal growth
in the work you do. We write you because we feel as white people we have a major
opportunity to change our relationship to the diverse social justice movements to
which we belong.

Barack Obama's candidacy potentially marks a historic turning point for racial justice in
this country. Unprecedented numbers of white voters have been moved by Obama's
message of hope, unity, moving past old divisions, and the push for "change" and
"progress." This outpouring of support and enthusiasm for doing things differently
provides an exciting opportunity for progressives to help shape the public debate on
what "change" really means. Not surprisingly, conservatives have reacted with alarm
and have moved to squash this multi-racial coalition through the Right's old stand-by
tactics of fear, racism and division.

As the Right tries desperately to turn back the clock, momentum is clearly on our
side. Our voice is needed to reject the racist attacks from the Right, and to address
people who wish to gloss-over systemic racism and white privilege in their desire to
embrace Obama as a "post-racial" candidate. We have a strategic opening to advance
conversations about racism in all of its subtleties to the next level, and to capture the
momentum of this time to help build a multiracial grassroots movement for justice.
As progressives and activists, we are committed to creating a more humane and
just world free from racism and all forms of oppression. We recognize that we have
a stake in achieving fairness and equality for all, and as white people the continued
existence of racism and white supremacy puts fear and hatred in the way of our
humanity. We know that racism is not removed from the other issues that we care
deeply about, such as workers rights, the environment, the war in Iraq, and queer
rights, and that racism has been a tool used to divide us. It is in our interest to step-
up our anti-racist efforts during the '08 elections and beyond.

AWARE-LA (Alliance of White Anti-Racists Everywhere, Los Angeles) believes that a
visible anti-racist white presence in social justice movements is key to creating long-
term change:

* Many white people in the U.S. are against racial inequity, but in the mainstream and even in our social change work we are not speaking up as anti-racists. An anti-racist white voice highlights what we can represent – active agents of racial justice.

* Historically, people of color have had to shoulder the burden of speaking out against racism. But we all have a stake in eliminating racism, and it is only fair for us to contribute our share in moving us towards our goal.

* As white folks we know that facing racism can be awkward and scary. But we are ideally situated to talk with other white people about racism and to move our communities to incorporate anti-racist practices into our social change work.

AWARE-LA believes this historical presidential election provides a unique moment for
building anti-racism among white folks. As a beginning to this and, AWARE-LA plans to
take the following actions:

* Document and speak-out out against the Right's racist attacks and innuendos. There have been exciting examples of progressives speaking out against racism in the '08 elections – most notably ColorOfChange.org and MoveOn.org's campaign against Fox News. We plan to join and broaden these efforts. We have set-up a blog called "Double Take" and we encourage you to use this blog as a place to do a double-take on racism in the '08 Presidential Campaign – and to coordinate actions and responses: www.doubletakeblog.wordpress.com

* We are organizing a multi-racial Community Event in Los Angeles on October 25, 2008 to discuss and expose racism in the '08 elections, and to harness the political energy of the elections toward movement building beyond November. We are calling for other concerned white folks to organize similar anti-racist actions in October in towns across the country! Please visit our blog for more details on our event.

Finally, AWARE-LA hopes other white folks will join us in building a racial justice movement beyond the '08 elections. The elimination of white supremacy and racism in the U.S. will not come about from the election of a single individual. We need multi-racial alliances working for racial, social, economic and environmental justice and sustained commitment from white people towards anti-racist goals and practice.

Throughout the history of the U.S. there are countless examples of white folks standing shoulder to shoulder with people of color to fight for civil and human rights, from white abolitionists to the Freedom Riders. It is important that contemporary white progressives and activists follow the example set by our anti-racist ancestors and join with our brothers and sisters of color in actively creating a more humane world
for everyone – which ultimately is the change and progress most of us are hoping for.

In Struggle,
AWARE-L.A.

Endorsements:

Catalyst Project, www.collectiveliberation.org, San Francisco CA Community Coalition, www.cocosouthla.org, Los Angeles CA Jeff Hitchcock, white anti-racist activist and author, NJ Paul Kivel, educator, activist, writer, Oakland CA Center for the Study of White American Culture, Roselle NJ
Labor/Community Strategy Center, www.thestrategycenter.org, Los Angeles CA
Sharon Martinas, Challenging White Supremacy, San Francisco CA
White Anti-Racist Community Action Network, www.wacan.org, on-line project
Tim Wise, author and educator, Nashville TN
Y-Step: Youth Step Towards Addressing Racism, www.ystep.org, Bay Area CA

AWARE-LA is an alliance of white antiracist people working together to combat racism
within ourselves, our communities, and the world. To learn more visit: www.awarela.org

Done! ... (I hope!)

Finished the chapter (i think). what a weird (read: completely standard) sitch to be in as a grad student. I really am worried about how I am (not) managing my time. I'd rather do qbg stuff all day and night than things that actually support me making the money that allows me to do qbg all day and night. Sigh. I've got to get it together really; no rest for the weary. I need like a procrastinator boot camp or like adderall or whatever the 'ville kids used to take to study. j/k drugs are bad!

Miso’ Soup: On the liquid misogyny the media feeds us

So I’ve got something new that I’m heated about. Tommy Lee and Ludacris have an ad on television promoting the new Planet Green TV Network. In it, they verbally spar over which of them is more “green” with Ludacris brandishing a chain purportedly made from recycle rims and Lee pointing to a tattoo of his etched with soy ink. Luda then says, “ . . . you remember the hot tub right? I filled it up with all women instead of water, saved 150 gallons.”
WTF?!
This pisses me off for several reasons.
1. Women < 150 gallons of water. I don’t think I can find a better example of men seeing women as objects rather than human beings. Women are used to replace water! They are in fact less valuable than water and therefore an acceptable, supposedly humorous substitute. I think there are a host of legitimately inanimate objects that could be used to replace water but what’s cleverer than having a rapper known for his problematic depictions of women delivering said phrase?
2. People green lighted this shit. Lots of folks saw this before it appeared on my television screen and apparently thought it was funny. This is really scary. This is yet another drop (or maybe splash) into the bucket of women’s degradation in the public sphere.
3. Male celebrities telling us how to be green, through a glorified pissing contest. I don’t really understand the green movement as being about one-upsmanship, particularly not among the wealthy who are the biggest users/abusers of resources in this country that uses/abuses more than any other. What about them setting some real goals that would make a difference like no more plastic bottles on tour, energy efficient stage lighting, or heaven forbid, no more private jet setting? The commercial sets up the green movement to be about reducing one’s individual impact instead of generating collective strategies for changing how we live and consume as a whole.
4. Why is there no public outcry? Even as I’ve mentioned it to friends I don’t get the level of outrage I’m expecting. Have we become so desensitized that even blatant woman hatred elicits no reaction? When did misogyny become so innocuous that it could be used to support social justice causes? This commercial maybe isn’t anything new in that regard; just think of PETA. But what does it say that our movements are so disparate that one will sell out the other for its own ends?

If you’re pissed please email Bryan Hughes, VP of Communications for Planet Green at Bryan_Hughes@discovery.com.

so interesting

Hiding in Hip Hop looks pretty interesting, no? Or maybe I'm just juiced because he gave Spelman a shout out.

So . . .

I held Erykah's hand and sang into the mic!!!! In front of the whole concert!!!

Also took a picture with scar.

Oh and jill was a special surprise guest

and i saw puma!

What a night

i can't wait!!!!

i'm coming back . . . to myself

Just enjoy a little nina in the interim

Birds flyin' high you know how I feel
Sun in the sky you know how I feel
Breeze driftin' on by you know how I feel
Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
yeah, its a new dawn its a new day its a new life for me ooooooooh
AND I'M FEELING GOOD

Fish in the sea, you know how I feel
River runnin' free you know how I feel
Blossom on the tree you know how I feel
Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
And I'm feelin good

Dragonfly out in the sun you know what i mean dont you know
Butterflies all havin' fun you know what I mean
Sleepin' peace when day is done that's what I mean
And this old world is a new world and a bold world for me

Stars when you shine you know how I feel
Scent of the crime you know how I feel
Your freedom is mine, and I know how I feel
Its a new dawn, its a new day, its a new life for me
(Free styling)
OH I'M FEELING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

it's ok in the day . . .

I don't really know how to get angry and stay angry. I think it's an important emotion though. I think it can be a source of power, especially the righteously indignant kind.

family reunion

my mama's family reunion was this weekend. It was bittersweet. I feel so disconnected from my family sometimes, like I'm on the outside looking in.

That's me, always on the periphery.

I don't know if I do that actively or if that's just how it goes. i wasn't feeling well which didn't help the situation. I did meet some cool cousins though.

Janelle Monae is the truth!

so I finally made it to see Janelle perform live. Me and my motley crew of text and myspace solicited friends arrived to the funky bougie AUC alumni peppered venue at about 10:30. It was hot but there were free drinks and food. After performances by other folks (slick and rose and phoenix), it was time for Janelle!

She ran on stage and started to rock it out! People were crunk! But then . . . the po po's turned off her mic!! Apparently there had been complaints about noise from the residential area surrounding the venue. Why did she keep on performing with no mic?!!! She was phenomenal!!!

I can't say enough about Ms. Monae. What a great night!

happy birthday to me

it's my birthday and i'm not sure how I feel. I had this great build up for a terrific night but the timing was off so it didn't come through. sigh . . .

i miss the good ol' days of undergrad where you never wanted for a party companion and parental resources helped ease those exorbitant club covers. sigh . . .

close but no concert was my night last night. but it's a new dawn it's a new day and I'm 24! life is quite the interesting ride is it not?

More More More

I want more in my life right now. More sunshine, more peace, more down time, more everything.
But my life is pretty full, pretty good, I shouldn't be complaining. You can't always get what you want when you want it and then of course there's that issue of what to do when you get it.

I've never been good with the free time I claim to want. I don't know what to do when I'm not supposed to be something. I need to work on that. I need to work on putting myself first.

I need to go to a meeting : )

liminal and interstitial spaces

I'm in between things right now. It's a weird place to be. Grad school has me doing all kinds of theoretical gymnastics instead of acting right now. I'm again wondering if this is the right space for me. Academia can be stagnating. I'm in love with words today. Got some things i need to work on:

1. the proliferation of stripper culture everywhere! (essence- check the comments, King of Queens, the art of attraction - see paragraph 2 of fair and balanced, the (white) rapper show)
2. The new black man in movies and the negative portrayal of women in the process (Daddy's little girls, Reign Over Me, Norbit, Black Snake Moan, I think I love my Wife)
3. Beyonce, Tyra, et. al
4. a fellowship application
5. an exam committee
6. My Project
7. My Life!