tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post4851813284973522199..comments2023-10-21T03:54:12.029-04:00Comments on A Gift Universe: Appropriating victimhoodSheilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-29244874841138074642018-06-20T17:24:30.261-04:002018-06-20T17:24:30.261-04:00Ugh. Always sickening when I see these. It's...Ugh. Always sickening when I see these. It's not like it's anything surprising or new, but the facts that a) they are stalking my internet presence, on my friends' facebook walls, and b) I don't know who they are, so they could be anyone, just make it creepy.<br /><br />I certainly am amused that calling me a blue-haired liberal feminist was the best they could do. The hair, yes, it is blue. If I were embarrassed about it, how could I go out in public?Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-54793049811303704872018-06-08T12:02:31.373-04:002018-06-08T12:02:31.373-04:00Someone is talking about you, and your FB and blog...Someone is talking about you, and your FB and blog posts. Got this from a friend:<br /><br />https://antelopegames.wordpress.com/2018/06/07/do-nothings-on-the-other-side/Brendanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-86419638006389113092018-05-27T08:43:56.787-04:002018-05-27T08:43:56.787-04:00Exactly. I often try to explain something very car...Exactly. I often try to explain something very carefully and gently in the hopes of getting through, only to find out after spending a lot of time on it that the person was closed to my point of view from the outset and was only asking questions to pick apart my answers. But I still do sometimes, because I'd hate to make the opposite mistake and tear down someone who's just ignorant.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-17138797272066891542018-05-25T11:22:58.988-04:002018-05-25T11:22:58.988-04:00There are definitely a few people i know who have ...There are definitely a few people i know who have knee jerk reactions to certain phrases--you say "Many Cinco de Mayo celebrations are basically cultural appropriation parties" and they hear "You are a bad person because you like tacos." For those people approaching the issue in a more oblique way can be a good strategy for making them a bit more woke.<br /><br />On the other hand, some people are so entrenched in their point of view that they would totally insist to the bitter end that they are in fact getting the short end of the stick. <br /><br />The trick seems to be figuring out how much airtime you give the latter in the hopes they'll turn out to be the former, and I doubt there's any one right answer to that.<br /><br />(To be clear, I'm referring to conversations with those who share your privilege, e.g. talking about race with other white people. I'm certainly not going to tell a black person "Maybe if you just EXPLAINED NICELY why they shouldn't burn your house down...")The Sojournerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04559244806125834569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-83874969528295934792018-05-25T10:18:30.048-04:002018-05-25T10:18:30.048-04:00Yeah, I consider myself highly privileged. I'...Yeah, I consider myself highly privileged. I've just found that when speaking to other people who are privileged, especially when they're not very "woke," it's best to simply say, "Don't you want things to be fair? Here are some ways in which they are not fair," instead of using social-justice buzzwords. To borrow a religious example, saying "you are privileged" to a person who isn't woke is like saying "you should lean more on the atonement" to a person who isn't Mormon. It's meaningless jargon and they don't accept the premises which would make it meaningful.<br /><br />Though really, the main problem is something that I can't help, which is people as privileged as myself or more so whining about how oppressed they are. It drives me bananas, but there doesn't seem to be a way to stop them from doing it. When talking to them, I just cut through the victim narrative and ask what they want, and whether what they want is actually fair. (Spoiler: it's not. But they usually refuse to admit this of course.) And when talking to others, I feel it's helpful to have a shorthand (I think the phrase "appropriating victimhood" works but I'm sure there's another out there, I can't be the first to need a name for it) to quickly explain the difference from an incel who SAYS he's a victim and a gay black person who actually IS.Sheilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10853868724554947854noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-43428311938250706622018-05-25T07:02:18.365-04:002018-05-25T07:02:18.365-04:00@Brenda, this IS basically an apology. Chill.@Brenda, this IS basically an apology. Chill.G.W.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2464977109229359349.post-9577301870218835222018-05-24T22:30:19.980-04:002018-05-24T22:30:19.980-04:00I'm not certain how your own privilege doesn&#...I'm not certain how your own privilege doesn't preclude you from even commenting on these serious issues. You're a white hetero-female in a monogamous relationship with a white hetero-male, and you have a college degree. I've only been reading for a few months, but I'm not certain where your own oppression is, except insofar as you are a woman, and thus are oppressed by society (and likely the very institution of your marriage itself). I'm not too different from you, so I just tend to apologize, listen, and not white-splain. Good post though.Brendanoreply@blogger.com