Real Women

[Diana York Blaine]

I don't exactly hear myself saying that everyone is a "serious bigot" in 
that post, do you, Andrew?  the other day my class entertained me with an 
explanation of how "trailer trash" is more vehemently racist than middle
class Texans--one African-American in the class said he experiences
hatred from the lowest socioeconomic group of whites and fear from the
middle and upper classes.  Clearly there are gradations. But speaking
personally I am benefitting from being a white woman
in a racially stratified culture.  That makes me part of the racism. I am
also complicit every time I don't speak up when someone tells one of
those "jokes" that Henry referred to. To not be a racist in America is
an ongoing activity, not just a feeling of good intentions towards one's 
fellow man. Sure we can "unlearn" our socialization to a degree--that's
what I teach people to think about as a feminist literature professor.
But yikes, let's not be Pollyanna.  The real cultural strokes come from
going along with the status quo, not bucking it.  Diana

On Mon, 18 Nov 1996, Andrew Dinn wrote:

> Diana York Blaine writes:
> 
> > . . . And before everyone dumps on me, let me say that I am sexist,
> > and racist, of course, because I was raised in a culture that is.
> > Why do we waste all this time on parading around pretending not to
> > be affected by our socialization? . . .
> 
> Well, include me out of that `we', since `we' here in the UK don't do
> any such thing. But neither do `we' go to the other extreme and assume
> that `we' are in no way able to disregard or transcend our
> socialization. Lots of people do not succumb to the sexism and racism
> in their environment and those who do often eventually respond to
> other social forces and lessen or remove the influence of sexism and
> racism.
> 
> So, if you are saying there are residual traces in most people well
> that's no big news. If you are saying that some people succumb to
> prejudices to the degree that they take part in large-scale, long-term
> systematic abuse well that's also no big news. But to claim that most
> people are such serious bigots sounds to me like a load of *I'm so
> Politically Correct I'll whip my own arse before anyone else does*
> crapola. And making the charge universal is just plain nuts.
> 
> Just my two new pence worth, of course.
> 
> 
> Andrew Dinn
> -----------
> And though Earthliness forget you,
> To the stilled Earth say:  I flow.
> To the rushing water speak:  I am.
>