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REPEAT: DO NOT COMPARE NATIVE AMERICANS TO NATURE. DO NOT ASSOCIATE US WITH NATURE. DO NOT SAY WE ARE CLOSE TO NATURE. DO NOT SAY WE UNDERSTAND NATURE. DO NOT MAKE ANY FUCKING CLAIM ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS AND NATURE.
That is racist. Equating Native Americans to nature…
I think…that there are better ways of educating people than calling them overt racists. People tend to listen more when they feel they aren’t being insulted. Aggression causes a defensive reaction, and then you’ve got two angry people who aren’t listening to each other, no matter how valid a point is.
Not to say this person doesn’t have a point, because I really think (s?)he does. I also think that a lot of people’s education of Native American culture (as diverse as it is) is told from a white, male perspective. That’s ignorance that can be alleviated with further education. Now, if after being educated that person persists in a racist belief (that Native Americans are animals and should be treated thus), THEN they’re racist.
We have a society heavily educated by the media. If nobody tells them that this belief that they’ve had thrust upon them their entire lives is actually a very offensive one, I wouldn’t fault them for not knowing. (Pity, maybe. Desire to educate, definitely.)
Outrage is the best way to get the idea out there, but that’s because people love to argue. I’m glad I read this, because I feel like I gained some perspective from this, but I wish it was worded in a less hurtful way.
Because it’s hurtful being called racist by people that you want to know the opinions from. That you want to understand. That you do view as people and respect. Who you are willing to change your beliefs for.
(Also I think that the term “racism” is very broad and almost nebulous these days. But that’s a discussion for another day.)lol this isn’t about feelings. not even your feelings. oppressed people don’t have to be nice or educate anyone. google is appropriate resource to find stuff out. this has been going on for over 400+ years and you want people to be calm and nice about it?
and just because you don’t know something is racist, doesn’t mean it’s not racist. ignorance doesn’t hold up. sorry.
this post was a major derail.
People aren’t going to ask questions about stuff they assume they already know, which is exactly what the first poster was talking about. It’s just like how if I think I think did a math problem correctly, I’m not going to know I did it wrong until somebody corrects me. I think it’s great that she made the post.
The only way oppressed people ever stop being oppressed is when they educate people. Otherwise you just have a segregated community with one half angry at the other, while the other is confused about why people are angry at them.
And she has every right to be angry, and I would be surprised if she wasn’t. I certainly wrote an outrageously angry post about the depiction of women in comics just a couple days ago. My point is, if you want people to take you seriously— if you want people to listen, you have to treat them like a listener. Not as somebody who will willfully attack you for anything you say. Patience, passion, respect, and knowledge are the best weapons in any argument.
And fine, I can’t change your definition of racist. I even think you may have a point, but that’s an internal discussion I need to have with myself to figure out what I think is racist. But let’s say you’re right: somebody does something racist, and doesn’t know. Are you just going to dismiss them as racist? Then they won’t know that they did something that is not acceptable. They will pass that on to other people that don’t know any better.
Say you yell at them for something they didn’t know. NO MATTER HOW GOOD THE POINT YOU MAKE IS, THEY WILL USUALLY DISMISS YOU AS AN ASSHOLE.
CHANGE WILL NEVER HAPPEN UNLESS YOU MAKE IT.
IGNORING THE PROBLEM WILL MAKE IT WORSE.
Aggravating the problem can be the first step to change: Make a dialog about it. But once you have society’s attention, you have to step up your game and mind your words.
I’m not saying my feelings are important to this person, or even should be. I’m saying that insulting people obscures all the good things you are trying to say. Coats them in sludge so to say. So instead of throwing insight at them, you’re just slinging shit.
Hate breeds hate.
REPEAT: DO NOT COMPARE NATIVE AMERICANS TO NATURE. DO NOT ASSOCIATE US WITH NATURE. DO NOT SAY WE ARE CLOSE TO NATURE. DO NOT SAY WE UNDERSTAND NATURE. DO NOT MAKE ANY FUCKING CLAIM ABOUT NATIVE AMERICANS AND NATURE.
That is racist. Equating Native Americans to nature…
I think…that there are better ways of educating people than calling them overt racists. People tend to listen more when they feel they aren’t being insulted. Aggression causes a defensive reaction, and then you’ve got two angry people who aren’t listening to each other, no matter how valid a point is.
Not to say this person doesn’t have a point, because I really think (s?)he does. I also think that a lot of people’s education of Native American culture (as diverse as it is) is told from a white, male perspective. That’s ignorance that can be alleviated with further education. Now, if after being educated that person persists in a racist belief (that Native Americans are animals and should be treated thus), THEN they’re racist.
We have a society heavily educated by the media. If nobody tells them that this belief that they’ve had thrust upon them their entire lives is actually a very offensive one, I wouldn’t fault them for not knowing. (Pity, maybe. Desire to educate, definitely.)
Outrage is the best way to get the idea out there, but that’s because people love to argue. I’m glad I read this, because I feel like I gained some perspective from this, but I wish it was worded in a less hurtful way.
Because it’s hurtful being called racist by people that you want to know the opinions from. That you want to understand. That you do view as people and respect. Who you are willing to change your beliefs for.
(Also I think that the term “racism” is very broad and almost nebulous these days. But that’s a discussion for another day.)
(via norma-desmond)
