The thing is, I am quite vocal about not accepting responsibility for things that people of my ancestors or my race did or are doing. I'm trying to become more aware of how my race (religion, sex, orientation, ethnicity etc) affects me, now, and how my actions affect other people, but I'm not willing to say that, say, slavery in this country is something for which I should feel guilty. I had no control over it-- I had nothing to do with it. But by the same token, I can't claim other people's persecution. Other people of my religion were put in concentration camps, lynched, randomly insulted in the streets, etc. Not me. I haven't been. And so I have no business claiming to be oppressed when I haven't been oppressed in that way.
I'm not talking about the 50s. I'm not talking about France. I'm not saying that I should forget history, and I do think I should be aware that these things can happen but they have not happened to me. And so I really have no business complaining about them when questions of prejudice come up. I can discuss them as a form of prejudice which affects people, the same way I can discuss any form of prejudice happening to anyone, but they're not my experience.
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branchandroot
(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-31 06:48 pm (UTC)I'm not talking about the 50s. I'm not talking about France. I'm not saying that I should forget history, and I do think I should be aware that these things can happen but they have not happened to me. And so I really have no business complaining about them when questions of prejudice come up. I can discuss them as a form of prejudice which affects people, the same way I can discuss any form of prejudice happening to anyone, but they're not my experience.