And none of the Black people in our peer group have ever been slaves, or lived under Jim Crow. Does that mean it doesn't affect them? I think you're using the word "experience" in an incredibly narrow sense which doesn't take into account the fact that a person's experience with their race/religion/ethnicity/identity is a lot more complex and has a far broader reach than just what they, personally, have directly experienced.
For example: Jane lives in a bad neighborhood. Jane has never been mugged, but her next door neighbor has been mugged, and her friend who came to visit her has been mugged, and her roommate has been mugged. Jane is now afraid of being mugged, and lives her life accordingly. Are you suggesting that the mugging of people in her neighborhood has no effect on her experience because she herself has not been mugged? Because I don't think you would.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2005-05-31 07:30 pm (UTC)For example: Jane lives in a bad neighborhood. Jane has never been mugged, but her next door neighbor has been mugged, and her friend who came to visit her has been mugged, and her roommate has been mugged. Jane is now afraid of being mugged, and lives her life accordingly. Are you suggesting that the mugging of people in her neighborhood has no effect on her experience because she herself has not been mugged? Because I don't think you would.