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[Opinions] I absolutely agree with you.
And everything else you've pretty much said on this thread with maybe only a couple of little exceptions that have more to do with how you may have phrased something other than your actual point.I live in the Deep South. I see both explicit racism and implicit racism every single day against African-American people where I live. I do not pretend to understand the perspective of a POC but I do empathize and try and educate myself as much as I can on my white privilege.I think it would be my white privilege showing in a completely unacceptable way if I commented on a name like 'Sir'. The only comment that I have on Rumi is that initially I thought it was some cultural appropriation of their own, using the name of a famous male Islamic poet as their daughter's name. I've since found out that it is a female Japanese name so it doesn't bother me so much. It bothered me a little to begin with as I do not think Islamic scholarship is given enough respect as it is therefore is apt to being appropriated by someone famous but I stand corrected.
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But if Rumi is a Japanese name, isn't it cultural appropriation for African-American parents to use it? Also, where in the Deep South do you live? (It's okay if you don't want to say.) I think you said once that you lived in the Carolinas... I haven't seen much racism here (only lived here for a few months though). But Charlotte is a majority African-American area, so that could be part of it. The racial dynamics are very, very different here, though. It definitely feels like there's a divide between white people and black people, that I never noticed when I lived in CO.
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No, because Japanese people are not in the same oppressive situation as African-American people and cultural appropriation is when a group with power assume cultural elements that they choose while those that they originated from remain disempowered. I used to live in NC. I now live in MS and have done for the past few years. The Carolinas are completely different to MS and AL- night and day different to me, in a way I didn't expect. I also saw a huge amount of implicit racism in the Carolinas that may not always be obvious unless you're looking for it...like extreme segregation (while no longer technically legalized) and laws that do increase African-American disempowerment such as voter-ID laws and gerrymandering districts in elections. The Republican party in NC has literally said that they want to keep POC from voting so they don't lose. It is way worse than that down here. But if you're white, you need to look for it because the chances are that it's all being tucked away to the side- that side where POC are kept and where they don't have a mainstream voice still. :(
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That makes sense to me.Oh, that definitely makes sense. I don't know much about any laws here that aren't school-related, haha. That's just awful, what the Republican Party said. I didn't hear about that.That's sad :( I've never been anywhere but the states I've lived in, so I've never seen that. I'm trying to be more aware of the social issues around me so I can make sure my behavior isn't like that, but it's very sad to notice.
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I think it's great that you're starting to notice. I date an African-American man and I am acutely aware these days of events (including many city events, I don't mean private parties) where he is the ONLY black person there or one of the few. My state is close to 40% black, the most of any state. We went to a wedding recently of two of my friends- both raised here. There was not a single black person among 150+ people except my partner. That is the segregation and racism these days...it's not so much people outwardly rejecting black people but that their paths never cross. My university has one of the most famous "pre-game/tail-gating" events in the South and everyone is ridiculously dressed up, people have chandeliers in their tents and fountains and stuff- it is like spot the black person. This thing of so much pride for white people in my area...I don't know how they'd react if a black family set up a tent because that just is not done. White families have their tent in a spot for generations...it isn't a place for POC. It is implicit but powerful.
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For an example...I watched this video today too- this stuff is raw and real and looked over:https://www.facebook.com/equaljusticeinitiative/videos/10155215462450845/We shouldn't feel guilty for what we didn't do but we need to empathize and understand and take action to fix it as we recognize our privilege that it isn't our past and path due to luck. And the actions of white people before us have given us that privilege.
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