Citizenship and Rights in the New Republics
I love the question about race being a social construct. It always makes me think of Rachel Dolezal, who claimed to be black (but was really a white woman doing some form of complicated blackface) and then the hordes of (mostly) white people rushing in to ask "well, if race is a social construct, and gender is a social construct, then why is trans-racial not a real identity in the same way transgender is?" And the answer lies in the stain of racial violence, especially the one that carried on today. It is in the fact that NFL players who kneel during the anthem are "sons of bitches" and white supremacists are "some very fine people".
I think the history of slavery in the Americas shapes it in a negative light. People of colour are routinely oppressed in the Americas, especially the United States, but there are also disturbing and saddening examples of colourism in Latin America. It's always hard for me to compare slavery in the Americas with other countries like Europe mostly because I don't know a lot of European history. I mostly know Canadian and American history (and now some Latin American) and I don't know what racism is currently like in Europe.
The only measure I really have for racism and the trends that slavery left behind are found within America and its current political climate. I have no measure of slavery in Canada, because it's generally glossed over or replaced with the all-too-important question of truth and reconciliation.
Mostly, I thought of how trauma can be passed down through generations, and how First Nations people in Canada are feeling the effects of this.
I love the comment on poetry that Echenique makes, saying that they are delusions. As an English major, we talked about English (that is, British) poetry up in the 18th century, and especially the Romantic period. They are all poems about how beautiful the world is, how wonderful the trees are, and it always made me laugh that these are the same people who live in grey old England.
I like that "she wants it both ways" because that makes sense to me. Why choose between art and science when you can have both? The Fibonacci sequence is, at its heart, mathematical, but is so beautiful in paintings and in the natural world. Literature is truly just trying to make sense of the world. Poetry is interpreting the world.Why can't we have both?
I think the history of slavery in the Americas shapes it in a negative light. People of colour are routinely oppressed in the Americas, especially the United States, but there are also disturbing and saddening examples of colourism in Latin America. It's always hard for me to compare slavery in the Americas with other countries like Europe mostly because I don't know a lot of European history. I mostly know Canadian and American history (and now some Latin American) and I don't know what racism is currently like in Europe.
The only measure I really have for racism and the trends that slavery left behind are found within America and its current political climate. I have no measure of slavery in Canada, because it's generally glossed over or replaced with the all-too-important question of truth and reconciliation.
Mostly, I thought of how trauma can be passed down through generations, and how First Nations people in Canada are feeling the effects of this.
I love the comment on poetry that Echenique makes, saying that they are delusions. As an English major, we talked about English (that is, British) poetry up in the 18th century, and especially the Romantic period. They are all poems about how beautiful the world is, how wonderful the trees are, and it always made me laugh that these are the same people who live in grey old England.
I like that "she wants it both ways" because that makes sense to me. Why choose between art and science when you can have both? The Fibonacci sequence is, at its heart, mathematical, but is so beautiful in paintings and in the natural world. Literature is truly just trying to make sense of the world. Poetry is interpreting the world.Why can't we have both?
This was a really interesting post, and I like the example you brought up about Rachel Dolezal, and the sheer ignorance in the question: "why is trans-racial not a real identity the same way transgender is?" It really accentuates how deeply the issue of race is embedded in our societies, and how far we have to go in awareness and education on the topic.
ReplyDeleteThis is extremely insightful, especially with the Rachel Dolezal situation. It shows exactly how race is a social construct, but today people are realizing (in particular the Africans) that black is beautiful and are starting to embrace their colour. What really struck me though was that Rachel received so much backlash for trying to look African. (Whereas this never really happens with Africans trying to bleach their skin to look lighter as it is considered beautiful to be white in most cultures- so it makes me ponder why we should discriminate Rachel for wanting to look darker?) In today's world the idea of cultural appropriation is constantly brought about and the idea framed as cultural misappropriation- and it's seen as negative and a violation of the originating culture. (Like with the case of Rachel and many more)
ReplyDeleteAlso in regard to indigenous people in Canada- I was struck to see that the people that are the least fortunate are actually indigenous people even though they own all the land and we are living on their land.
I think you bring up some great points about why race is so important in the Americas. I agree that it is likely related to slavery and racist history of the Americas, but I also think that the reason race is still an important consideration is because this racism never went away. Sure we don't have slavery anymore, but oppression of people of colour is still very real and very apparent, from mass incarceration to violent hate crimes, it really hasn't stopped. Which is why trans-racial is not really considered a valid identity because it ignore the systematic barriers people of colour experience and ignores the apparent white privilege they don't have. In my opinion, to see race as a choice trivializes race and the barriers it presents people of minorities.
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