@RedPowerLady My answer was not “a long winded way of saying that you wish racism didn’t exist.” It was a lengthy explanation of the fact that everyone contributes to the problem, none more so than those who choose to find “intentional” offense when none exists. I did not say that people do not have a right to be angry at oppression, I said that making something into something that it isn’t is wrong and perpetuates the problems that we have instead of solving anything at all. I am one of the first to stand up to true oppression, no matter who is being oppressed or doing the oppressing, but I refuse to get riled up about things that are blown out of proportion. There is a true difference between the two. Its the difference between oppression and drama.
You are dealing in drama. You are making a huge deal out of very little. This particular matter is not the traditional “blackface” which is meant to offend and originated as a mean-spirited imitation of black people to make others laugh. Not unlike some of the black comics today that make racist statements/imitations about/of white people and think its perfectly OK because what black people say to/about white people isn’t racism. No matter who’s doing it to whom, it’s still racism. This also stands for people of any other race making comments about people of any other race. Its all under the same umbrella, it cannot be denied just because of the skin color of the person who says it. Racism is in some cases a two way street, in others its like a major junction. But it works in a variety of ways, as I have endeavored to explain.
As I have actually read quite a bit of the publications of the APA, not just those that confirm my personal opinions, I think I’m aware of the collected knowledge, theories, and ideas that are present. I took the time to form an educated opinion by reading things that I disagree with as well as things that I agree with and thinking critically about the points made and why I do not agree. That is how you learn and become able to have a better understanding of complicated matters like racism instead of trying to see it in, pardon the pun, black and white.
I’m also quite well aware of what causes psychological damage to children. Seeing someone dressed up as someone they respect isn’t going to do it. Seeing someone who was making fun of them, telling them that they are stupid or what have you because they’re of whatever race they are, however, can be damaging. You’re painting everything with a very broad stroke here and trying to imply things that simply do not exist. I’m aware of what is and is not harmful because I’ve studied children, psychology, and done so past the B.S. that you claim on your profile. At some point, you push some things so far that your entire statement appears ridiculous. Claiming psychological harm because this guy wants to get a little tanner to better look like someone he wants to portray in a respectful manner is ridiculous.
There is no one who plays the victim more than those who intentionally seek out things to call racist. And there is no one more racist than those who seek to accuse other people of racist actions. Racism exists, overt and covert, but the assumption of bad intentions on every side is what’s keeping us stuck where we are. Nothing can change until everyone changes. And since there are so many people unwilling to change because they don’t see themselves as doing anything wrong, so full of “righteous indignation,” little can change.
I don’t have to be a person of color to understand when things are racist, mean spirited, not “all in fun,” meant to be offensive or whatever else. But you would have to be a person of logic to understand that not everything that can remotely be considered racist if you look at it from just this certain angle, tilting your head to the perfect 75 degree angle, is. Sometimes you have to take things at face value without reading God only know what into them. Its not about what races make up my ancestry and the effect that has on one’s point of view. Its about logic over emotion and looking to play the victim… of nothing.
My understanding is not impaired by my skin color. Your statement that it is, however, is the same kind of racism that you would howl about if it were applied to you. Yes, you just made a racist statement about me. But because its about me and not about you, its perfectly OK as far as you’re concerned. Therein lies the real problem.
@RedPowerLady, your posts here are just an example of someone using poorly written, reactionary rhetoric to support continued oppression. You are working as hard as you can to uphold the system in the name of bringing it down.
Please actually read the publications of the American Psychological Association, not just those articles that support your own thinking, before claiming to know what their opinion is. And as for those articles that you have read, please go back and re-read with a critical and analytical eye.
P.S. There was a very big problem with being a green person for Elphaba. Lots of discrimination. And a history of violence, oppression, green-ism and everything else eventually leading to death. Again, reading up before you make claims of knowledge is important. The works of L. Frank Baum and Gregory Maguire might be enlightening.