http://sexgenderbody.tumblr.com/
This is a totally awesome Tumblr - most of the time. They really post a lot of wonderful, thought-provoking things, and the submissions they take are amazing too. However, the person running this Tumblr is posting some things tonight that are disturbing to me. The blog claims to be sex-, gender-, and body-positive, yet they are blaming white, Christian men for everything that is wrong with the world. I disagree with this. Maybe this is just me, but I feel nothing can be fixed or healed with blame, contempt, or hate. Those things close the door to respect and discourse, and I don't think that's the right way to go about it. Again, that's just my opinion.
How many of you share this blogger's opinion? How many of you share mine? What are YOUR opinions? I really want to know. I just think that this world's problems have so very many sources that it is majorly unfair to place the blame squarely on one group, particularly one that is arbitrary. No one can help what race they are born. To an extent, you sort of can't help your religion - if you are born in a certain place, it is more likely you will be born into a certain religion. Yes, you do have freedom of choice, especially when you're older, but what faith your family follows is largely accident of birth.
Here's where I get a little rant-y - you can skip this paragraph if you want to. How dare you tell me that my friends and family are bad people because of who they are!? How dare you tell me that my dad is a bad person for being born white, and born and raised in a Roman Catholic household? (My dad can be kind of a jerk, but that has nothing to do with his race or religion. If you knew my dad, you'd totally get that.) How dare you tell me that my best friend James or my brother Dylan or my little cousin A. [name of minor withheld] are bad for being born a certain color? NO. You don't get to say that, because that makes YOU just as guilty of judging someone without bothering to THINK or get to know them. Not classy, y'all - not cool.
Also (perhaps rant-y too), this person has posted lots of just plain anti-white stuff over the last, I would say - hopefully remembering correctly, last few weeks. Who the hell are you to tell me that I am a bad person because of the color of my skin? I can't change it. Well, okay, here's some sarcasm for you, even though I usually don't like going there: I CAN change it, but that much green paint gets expensive and even I can only handle the Wicked soundtrack so many times through. There - sorry, I normally feel like sarcasm somewhat invalidates one's own argument, but I'm rather angry. You can disregard this paragraph too, if it makes you feel better.
Another point, and I don't care if I take some hate for this: if you want to say "Don't hold it against me for being born such-and-such a way" then don't hold it against someone else how they're born. The only thing I'm sure and certain about is that no one is born a bigot. This goes beyond being a niche issue of any kind, whether racial or gendered or ability-targeted or what-have-you. I feel the attitudes depicted recently by this Tumblr are divisive and unhealthy, and that makes me sad. I feel we need to move away from punishment and competition towards rehabilitation and cohesion. Whatever your opinions, faith - any place that you are in life - we have got to remember what Mufasa said and put it best: "We are all connected in the great Circle of Life." Yeah, a talking lion voiced by Darth Vader got it - we're in this together. Let's WORK together to make it not suck.
Marigold, calling for more love in the world, saying good-night!
This is a totally awesome Tumblr - most of the time. They really post a lot of wonderful, thought-provoking things, and the submissions they take are amazing too. However, the person running this Tumblr is posting some things tonight that are disturbing to me. The blog claims to be sex-, gender-, and body-positive, yet they are blaming white, Christian men for everything that is wrong with the world. I disagree with this. Maybe this is just me, but I feel nothing can be fixed or healed with blame, contempt, or hate. Those things close the door to respect and discourse, and I don't think that's the right way to go about it. Again, that's just my opinion.
How many of you share this blogger's opinion? How many of you share mine? What are YOUR opinions? I really want to know. I just think that this world's problems have so very many sources that it is majorly unfair to place the blame squarely on one group, particularly one that is arbitrary. No one can help what race they are born. To an extent, you sort of can't help your religion - if you are born in a certain place, it is more likely you will be born into a certain religion. Yes, you do have freedom of choice, especially when you're older, but what faith your family follows is largely accident of birth.
Here's where I get a little rant-y - you can skip this paragraph if you want to. How dare you tell me that my friends and family are bad people because of who they are!? How dare you tell me that my dad is a bad person for being born white, and born and raised in a Roman Catholic household? (My dad can be kind of a jerk, but that has nothing to do with his race or religion. If you knew my dad, you'd totally get that.) How dare you tell me that my best friend James or my brother Dylan or my little cousin A. [name of minor withheld] are bad for being born a certain color? NO. You don't get to say that, because that makes YOU just as guilty of judging someone without bothering to THINK or get to know them. Not classy, y'all - not cool.
Also (perhaps rant-y too), this person has posted lots of just plain anti-white stuff over the last, I would say - hopefully remembering correctly, last few weeks. Who the hell are you to tell me that I am a bad person because of the color of my skin? I can't change it. Well, okay, here's some sarcasm for you, even though I usually don't like going there: I CAN change it, but that much green paint gets expensive and even I can only handle the Wicked soundtrack so many times through. There - sorry, I normally feel like sarcasm somewhat invalidates one's own argument, but I'm rather angry. You can disregard this paragraph too, if it makes you feel better.
Another point, and I don't care if I take some hate for this: if you want to say "Don't hold it against me for being born such-and-such a way" then don't hold it against someone else how they're born. The only thing I'm sure and certain about is that no one is born a bigot. This goes beyond being a niche issue of any kind, whether racial or gendered or ability-targeted or what-have-you. I feel the attitudes depicted recently by this Tumblr are divisive and unhealthy, and that makes me sad. I feel we need to move away from punishment and competition towards rehabilitation and cohesion. Whatever your opinions, faith - any place that you are in life - we have got to remember what Mufasa said and put it best: "We are all connected in the great Circle of Life." Yeah, a talking lion voiced by Darth Vader got it - we're in this together. Let's WORK together to make it not suck.
Marigold, calling for more love in the world, saying good-night!
Rash generalization in place of reason and intelligence = prejudice, or in this case racism.
ReplyDeleteBeing a white male I'm probably not the best person to ask, but what the hell is white anyway? Caucasian? Aren't there about twenty different regions and national backgrounds considered white/Caucasian?
Most prejudices have some form of hypocrisy also involved, so I generally keep to myself, and leave them to their own social thought-processes. I try to live my life in the real world... The real world is not realization, it's actualization. When you know who you really are and who the people are around you really are, you can then begin to start making positive changes.