April122013

” ‘Cause obviously our apocalypse is colonialism.”

TextaQueen society colonialism world history Australia indigenous rights human rights apocalypse Sister Spit 2013 Sister Spit Riot Grrrl Revolution Girl Style NOW! 

March72013

(Source: mzaipa, via faineemae)

Hawaii Kingdom Of Hawaii world history imperialism colonialism white privilege racism society 1893 January 17th Lili'uokalani Queen Lili'uokalani United States American History 

February282013

newwavefeminism:

thepeoplesrecord:

Indian feminists/activists respond to Harvard kids attempting to help the less fortunate ‘third world’ feminists
February 25, 2013

Globally, from the U.S. to the developing world, rape and other forms of violence against women remain at shockingly high levels. Focusing on the horrifying case of a 23-year-old Indian student who was gang-raped and beaten to death in Delhi in December, the Harvard College Women’s Center announced it would create a Beyond Gender Equality task force, “convened to offer recommendations to India and other South Asian countries in the wake of the New Delhi gang rape and murder.”

The group ignored the long history of Indian activists themselves fighting to end rape and sexual violence—including recent mass protests of South Asian women and men calling for a systemic fight against rape. And the Harvardites had nothing to say about the ample evidence of the problem of rape in the U.S.—from the sickening gang rape and subsequent cover-up at Steubenville High School in Ohio, to the systematic downplaying of rape and sexual assault at Amherst College and other universities.

In response to this “white (wo)man’s burden” take on the issue of sexual violence in South Asia, a group Indian feminists wrote the following response, first published at Kafila.org, detailing their own years of work fighting to end rape and gain justice sexual assault victims.

— — — — — — —

Dear sisters (and brothers?) at Harvard,
WE’RE A group of Indian feminists and we are delighted to learn that the Harvard community—without doubt one of the most learned in the world—has seen fit to set up a policy task force entitled “Beyond Gender Equality” and that you are preparing to offer recommendations to India (and other South Asian countries) in the wake of the New Delhi gang rape and murder.

Not since the days of Katherine Mayo have American women—and American feminists—felt such a concern for their less privileged Third World sisters. Mayo’s concern, at that time, was to ensure that the Indian state (then the colonial state) did not leave Indian women in the lurch, at the mercy of their men, and that it retained power and the rule of the just.

Yours, we see, is to work towards ensuring that steps are put in place that can help the Indian state in its implementation of the recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee, a responsibility the Indian state must take up.

This is clearly something that we, Indian feminists and activists who have been involved in the women’s movement here for several decades, are incapable of doing, and it was with a sense of overwhelming relief that we read of your intention to step into this breach.

You might be pleased to know that one of us, a lawyer who led the initiative to put pressure on the Justice Verma Committee to have a public hearing with women’s groups, even said in relief, when she heard of your plans, that she would now go on holiday and take a plane ride to see the Everest.

Indeed, we are all relieved, for now we know that our efforts will not have been in vain: the oral evidence provided by 82 activists and organizations to the Justice Verma Committee—and which we believe substantially contributed to the framing of their report—will now be in safe American hands!

Perhaps you are aware that the Indian state has put in place an “Ordinance on Sexual Assault” that ignores many recommendations of the Justice Verma Committee? If not, we would be pleased to furnish you a copy of the Ordinance, as well as a chart prepared by us, which details which recommendations have been accepted and which not.

This may be useful in your efforts to advise our government. One of the greatest things about sisterhood is that it is so global—feminism has built such strong international connections, such that whenever our First World sisters see that we are incapable of dealing with problems in our countries, they immediately step in to help us out and provide us with much needed guidance and support. We are truly grateful for this.

Perhaps you will allow us to repay the favor, and next time President Obama wants to put in place legislation to do with abortion or the Equal Rights Amendment, we can step in and help, and, from our small bit of experience in these fields, recommend what the United States can do.

Source (with signatures)

(via grrrlgoneriot)

white privilege society Riot Grrrl Revolution Girl Style NOW! rape rape culture world news Harvard Harvard College Women’s Center Delhi India sexual violence sexual assault South Asia Kafila.org colonialism imperialism intersectionality 

February142013

“Motherfuckers will read a book that is 1/3 Elvish, but put two sentences in Spanish and they think we’re taking over.” — Junot Diaz, to the interview question: “Do you think using Spanish in your writing alienates some of your readers?”

Junot Diaz society world history racism white privilege literature English Spanish assimilation colonialism xenophobia 

January102013

Assemblyman Pushes for Native American Day to Replace Columbus Day

Instead of Columbus Day, California Assemblyman Roger Hernandez, D-West Covina, has introduced legislation that would recognize the second Monday in October as Native American Day.

“Columbus Day is still recognized in California, despite the egregious actions taken against Native American people,” said Hernandez in a statement announcing Assembly Bill 55.

His bill would recognize Native American Day as state holiday and would require the governor of California to proclaim it as such, meaning state agencies would close. Currently, the governor recognizes the fourth Friday of September as Native American Day.

Hernandez, in his statement, said the legislation, “is inspired by the recognition that the so-called discovery of the America’s by Columbus eventually led to the genocide of Native Americans. This bill hence provides the proper respect and recognition to our Native American nations.”

Full article.

world news California Columbus Day colonialism genocide Roger Hernandez society 

December262012

writeswrongs:

Hi, just your local Mayan here reminding you the world isn’t ending tomorrow.  

Also, that Mayans still exist.

And finally, that we have a language that is still spoken, and written, and that our science and other studies have developed with time and we’re not some stone age group of savages carving shit into rocks for all eternity just so some iztacchuatl will find it and tell us white jesus is gonna end the world when our calender stops working for her.

gringos impitzoyos.

2012 Facebook Mayan calendar Mayans colonialism culture end of the world hipster bullshit society white privilege world history world news cultural appropriation 

November282012

“Nine months after the shooting of Trayvon Martin, a White man has killed another Florida teen under troubling circumstances. The Orlando Sentinel reports that on Friday night, 17-year-old Jordan Russell Davis and a group of friends were sitting in an SUV in the parking lot of a Jacksonville convenience store when they were approached by another vehicle. Michael David Dunn, who was accompanied by his girlfriend, asked the teens to turn down their music. According to Lt. Rob Schoonover of the Jacksonville Sherrif’s Office, Davis and Dunn exchanged words. Allegedly, the 45-year-old then drew a gun and fired into the SUV eight or nine times, striking the young boy twice. He then drove off, but a witness inside the store wrote down his license plate number. The following morning, the couple learned that one of the passengers of the car had died via a news report. They then returned home to Brevard County, where Dunn was arrested later that day and charged with murder and attempted murder. Jordan Russell Davis was a student at Samuel W. Wolfson High School, a magnet school. He worked at the local Wynn Dixie grocery store. Frankly, I would not care if he was a member of Three Six Mafia who had stopped at the convenience store to re-up on blunts and 40 ounces. If a group of people is sitting in a car listening to loud music, it is not the job of a private citizen to demand that they turn it down. Furthermore, there is nothing justifiable or excusable about Dunn drawing a gun on a group of people whom he had accosted. Michael David Dunn, likely high off the excitement of his son’s wedding, perhaps a few too many gin and tonics at the reception and certainly the feeling one gets from being White, male and armed, felt it was his place to approach these young people aggressively over the volume of their music. And this gun wielding person, who allegedly APPROACHED THE CAR without provocation (much like George Zimmerman hunted down Trayvon Martin without provocation), felt threatened by the presence of teenagers in a car with whom he started an argument because HE THOUGHT THEIR MUSIC WAS TOO LOUD. White privilege is just so, so real.” — Jamilah Lemieux, “Another Trayvon: Florida Teen Killed By White Man,” Ebony.com 11/28/12

world news white privilege colonialism Trayvon Martin Jordan Russell Davis Michael David Dunn Michael Dunn society racism Ebony Florida murder 

November62012

“The West won the world not by the superiority of its ideas or values or religion, but rather by its superiority in applying organized violence. Westerners often forget this fact, non-Westerners never do.”

Samuel P. Huntington imperialism society Manifest Destiny white privilege world history power dynamic colonialism 

October242012

Lakota Indians cancel treaties with U.S. gov’t


The Lakota delegation delivered signed documents to the U.S. State Department informing officials of the decision to formally declare sovereignty from the United States as a result of its genocidal assault on the political, cultural and economic freedom of the Lakota Nation. The geographic area making up what will be called the Republic of Lakota covers portions of northern Nebraska, half of South Dakota, one-quarter of North Dakota, 20 percent of Montana and 20 percent of Wyoming. Mr. Means used the term “apartheid” to describe the dire conditions facing the Lakota Nation.

The life expectancy of Lakota men is less than 44 years; 97 percent of the Lakota people live below the poverty line. The Lakota infant mortality rate is 300 percent higher than the national average. The tuberculosis rate on Lakota reservations is 800 percent higher than the national average; cervical cancer is 500 percent higher than the national average; the rate of diabetes is 800 percent higher than the national average

The unemployment rate on reservations is over 85 percent with the median income between $2,600 to $3,500 per year. One-third of the homes on reservations lack clean water and 40 percent of the homes lack electricity. In addition, alcoholism affects 8 in 10 Lakota families with rates of drug abuse and suicide increasing.

Full article.

world news Lakota Nation America Native Americans colonialism apartheid Louisiana Purchase world history 

October212012

“For years, I opened my 11th-grade U.S. history classes by asking students, “What’s the name of that guy they say discovered America?” A few students might object to the word “discover,” but they all knew the fellow I was talking about. “Christopher Columbus!” several called out in unison. “Right. So who did he find when he came here?” I asked. Usually, a few students would say, “Indians,” but I asked them to be specific: “Which nationality? What are their names?” Silence. In more than 30 years of teaching U.S. history and guest-teaching in others’ classes, I’ve never had a single student say, “Taínos.” How do we explain that? We all know the name of the man who came here from Europe, but none of us knows the name of the people who were here first—and there were hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of them. Why haven’t you heard of them? This ignorance is an artifact of historical silencing—rendering invisible the lives and stories of entire peoples.”

colonialism white privilege American world history Christopher Columbus Tainos Native Americans Barbara Miner 

October42012

“Whether I approve of guns? I grew up in Birmingham, Alabama. Some very good friends of mine were killed by bombs, bombs that were planted by racists. I remember from the time I was very small, I remember the sounds of bombs exploding across the street, our house shaking, I remember my father having to have guns at his disposal at all times because of the fact at any moment we might expect to be attacked. The man who was at that time in complete control of the city government, his name was Bill Conner would often get on the radio and make statements like, “niggers have moved into a white neighborhood we better expect some bloodshed tonight”, and sure enough there would be bloodshed. That’s why when someone asks me about violence, I just find it incredible because what it means is that the person who is asking that question has absolutely no idea what black people have gone through, what black people have experienced in this country since the time the first black person was kidnapped from the shores of Africa.”

Angela Davis violence racism society revolution world history power dynamic slavery white privilege colonialism 

September252012

Cultural Appropriation: Let's Talk Food

diggingforroots:

I suspect that this would fall under “unpopular opinions” but, yes, I think you can be culturally appropriative of food. I’ve never heard/seen anyone talk about food specifically as being culturally appropriated, but I highly doubt that my thoughts on this subject are unique. I suspect I just haven’t seen some wonderful work done by others. Also, I am relying on the theories and work of others who talk about food justice, even if they haven’t actually connected it specifically to cultural appropriation. *Also remember: This is just my own opinion. There are people in marginalized and oppressed groups who may completely disagree with me.*

So let’s begin with what I *don’t* think constitutes cultural appropriation of food, to get some of the angsty stuff out of the way. I don’t believe it is cultural appropriation to

  • eat food from another culture
  • to learn how to cook food from another culture
  • to modify recipes from another culture for your own enjoyment
  • to eat at restaurants, authentic or otherwise, that serve food from another culture
  • to enjoy learning about another culture thru the traditional and/or modern foods of that culture

So no, I don’t think you are a racist asshat because you love guacamole or pad thai. I don’t think you are a privileged douchefuck because you sweated to learn how to make a killer tagine that is now the centerpiece of your family’s holiday meals.

“What’s left?” you may ask. “I can eat what I want, cook what I want, share what I want… okay… then how dare you say that it is possible to appropriate food? Where are you going with this?”

When we talk about food justice we are talking about a few different things. What I will concentrate on here are:

  1. Access to the foods and ingredients that are meaningful, traditional, and wanted within our culture.
  2. Access to high quality and fresh foods and ingredients that are available to low income people in low income neighborhoods.

One way that food can be appropriated is by making it difficult for those of the culture from which it stems to gain access to it. For example, quinoa has become very popular outside its native home of Bolivia, but with that popularity comes a price to the Bolivian people that what was a staple of their diet is now too expensive for them to eat. It’s fair to assume that it will be replaced by less beneficial alternatives, most likely imported and pre-packaged. I’m not saying that everyone should throw out their quinoa or feel useless guilt for eating it. I am saying that it is a good example of where access to a traditional food has been appropriated by people in such a way as to make it inaccessible to the culture from which it comes. We can think about how much of it we eat, if there are more fair ways to get it, and look for ways to support policies and practices that help Bolivians to be able to make an income off of this seed while still maintaining their cultural practices and access to their own food.

Put another way for U.S.ians, can you imagine not being able to eat an apple or have your July 4th homemade apple pie because the government decided to export most of them, thereby raising the prices of the few available here? Sure, you might see some increase in your income, but it wouldn’t be enough to buy you those apples you once took for granted. And it wouldn’t be enough to help you to retain the centrality of the apple to your diet. Oh, but hey, apples are a pseudo-cultural marker of the U.S. (“American as apple pie”, Johnny Appleseed, “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”, etc.) but aren’t actually a staple for most of us anymore (though perhaps they should be).

Another way that I feel food can be appropriated is by fetishizing it, especially when it includes commercializing it. Privileged white people who visit an “exotic” country and learn all they can about the local cuisine, only to come home and write best-selling books, appear on Martha Stewart, and eventually parlay the experience into their own television deal are a good example of this. Haven’t you ever wondered why the food stations are so overwhelmingly pale even as “festive” and “steamy” meals from “far-away lands” are being cooked up using modern technology? How much of that money do you think makes it back into the hands of the people who generously shared their family recipes with the soon-to-be celebrity chef? When the “experts” of our food are people from outside our communities, that is a form of appropriation.

In a lot of ways food becomes the symbol of a culture. Take fry-bread for Natives. Who hasn’t heard a joke about fry-bread? Do I think it’s wrong for non-Natives to eat fry-bread? No, I don’t. But I do think it is wrong when non-Native dieticians etc. point to fry-bread to explain all the health ills of Natives. I also think it’s wrong when non-Natives refuse to acknowledge the painful history and creation of fry-bread, and the poverty and scarcity of other food that it also symbolizes. And it is wrong when Natives are reduced to “fry bread eating, commodity taking freeloaders”, just as it is wrong when Mexicans are reduced to “beaners”, Arabs to “goat grillers”, and South Asians to “smelly curry eaters”. When our traditional foods are pointed to as jokes or ways to further oppress us, to mark us out as different in a way that is mocked, that is not respectful.

Our traditional foods are central to our cultures too. For some of us there are a lot of memories around sharing those foods, and for many others of us the food was part of our journey back to our people and culture. An honest recognition of that by others is necessary to respect that food. There are also traditional times/occasions for certain foods, and taboos, that should be honored. You can share in our food, but there is still an element of privilege, theft, and imposed change that has to be acknowledged at the same time. Minimizing YOUR theft and imposed change, respecting the traditions that guide when and how that food is served, and being thoughtful of what the food represents for us is a good first step to genuine cultural understanding that moves past appropriation.

cultural appropriation food cooking recipes white privilege hipsters society colonialism racism quinoa Bolivia fry bread Native Americans Navajo Long Walk world history 

September222012

“Muslims (and nonwhites generally) are innately backward. We’re so backward that without us you’d still be using roman numerals instead of the simple 10 digit numbers we take for granted today. Our chemistry would still be alchemy, and you’d most likely punish your chemists for sorcery. Our earth, too, would still be the center of the universe, and the sun would, more likely than not, still be orbiting the earth. Also, our age-old sectarianism and hatred of others were the motivation that spurred our great contributions in medicine. Such is our backwardness. The white mans invasion of our lands not only reformed us, it taught us the meaning of writing by attempting to render our own languages useless; taught us the value of education by flattening our schools, universities, and museums, by killing our teachers and professors. The white man, the source of all things good, finally taught us to love one another by bombing our mosques, churches, and other holy places. Knowing our ignorance, he backed our brutalizers until the last moment; then, as if realizing his faux pas, thought it better for us if he spoke on our behalf against his old friends. Thank you for setting me free, white man.” — Yousef Khalfan

Yousef Khalfan world history colonialism imperialism Islamophobia society racism 

September172012
 whatfreshhellisthis responded :Cultural appropriation exists because of centuries of: Imperialism: more specifically, cultural imperialism which is essentially one cultural dominating another. (IE: white folks and everyone we’ve ever invaded ever. Including each other.) Racism: justifies the appropriation by making various cultural/racial/ethic groups marginalised, oppressed and seen as inferior by the privileged group. Exoticism: justifies commodification and objectification. Orientalism Colonisation Entitlement: thinking that oppressed people’s culture, society, and spirituality are up for grabs. Oppression Power Capitalism Unawareness of privilege: based on misunderstanding of power dynamics, entitlement, exoticism and racism Why is cultural appropriation harmful?: Cultural appropriation reinforces oppression because it invalidates and commodifies marginalised groups. Invalidates: the culture/society/the people Homogenizes: lets look at the white girls wearing warbonnets and mukluks. War bonnets are worn traditionally only by various Native plains tribes and mukluks are boots made of usually seal skin warn/made traditionally by Alaskan/Arctic natives. This haphazard and disrespectful throwing together different pieces of two completely different Native cultures which is portraying an image of homogeneity and reinforces the stereotype that there is just one Native American culture and they are all the same, which reinforces oppression and racism. Commodifies: putting a monetary value on something that should not be sold or purchased or marketed in any way, eg. spiritual practices. Reinforces stereotypes: which reinforce oppression and racism-a tool of colonisation. Distorts traditions into inaccurate and offensive caricatures Romanticises cultures: often this is something that results in entire groups of people being seen as ‘something that used to exist’ as opposed to people with lives and cultures that exist and flourish today. You get this a lot with Native American and Canadian culture. Eroticises/exoticizes people: this is incredibly dehumanising.

 whatfreshhellisthis responded :
Cultural appropriation exists because of centuries of:

  • Imperialism: more specifically, cultural imperialism which is essentially one cultural dominating another. (IE: white folks and everyone we’ve ever invaded ever. Including each other.)
  • Racism: justifies the appropriation by making various cultural/racial/ethic groups marginalised, oppressed and seen as inferior by the privileged group.
  • Exoticism: justifies commodification and objectification.
  • Orientalism
  • Colonisation
  • Entitlement: thinking that oppressed people’s culture, society, and spirituality are up for grabs.
  • Oppression
  • Power
  • Capitalism
  • Unawareness of privilege: based on misunderstanding of power dynamics, entitlement, exoticism and racism

Why is cultural appropriation harmful?:

Cultural appropriation reinforces oppression because it invalidates and commodifies marginalised groups.

  • Invalidates: the culture/society/the people
  • Homogenizes: lets look at the white girls wearing warbonnets and mukluks. War bonnets are worn traditionally only by various Native plains tribes and mukluks are boots made of usually seal skin warn/made traditionally by Alaskan/Arctic natives. This haphazard and disrespectful throwing together different pieces of two completely different Native cultures which is portraying an image of homogeneity and reinforces the stereotype that there is just one Native American culture and they are all the same, which reinforces oppression and racism.
  • Commodifies: putting a monetary value on something that should not be sold or purchased or marketed in any way, eg. spiritual practices.
  • Reinforces stereotypes: which reinforce oppression and racism-a tool of colonisation.
  • Distorts traditions into inaccurate and offensive caricatures
  • Romanticises cultures: often this is something that results in entire groups of people being seen as ‘something that used to exist’ as opposed to people with lives and cultures that exist and flourish today. You get this a lot with Native American and Canadian culture.
  • Eroticises/exoticizes people: this is incredibly dehumanising.

colonialism culture appropriation imperialism racism society white privilege world history Faineemae whatfreshhellisthis 

September72012

Save Wiyabi Project Assiniboine Assiniboine people Riot Grrrl rape culture personal rights Grrrl Love Native American Violence Against Women Act violence against women misogyny world news sexual violence domestic abuse domestic violence society intersectionality colonialism white privilege 

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