Links – 2009-03-23
“What should be avoided in all [blogs] is any hint of racist, sexist or religious bias, or any suggestion of nasty, snide, sarcastic, or condescending tone — “snark.”
A suggestion to the author: Toss a period between the no-racism-bigotry-or-sexism section and the anti-nastiness decree. This would have avoided the impression that the Times places a racial rant on the same ethical plane as, say, a cheeky story on Kirsten Gillibrand.
A couple weeks ago I was having a talk with somebody at a coffee shop in my neighborhood, and I noticed some graffiti on the bathroom wall that said: “Downward mobility is not radical.” Incidentally, the talk I was having that day was with a young white class-privileged person who was struggling with what to do with some inherited money, and we were talking about wealth and social justice and giving away inheritance and all of these things, and the whole time I kept pondering the graffiti and thinking that actually, downward mobility is radical. Wouldn’t it be very radical if all wealthy people gave away their money and spent only what they needed to live?
[I'm talking here about the kind of downward mobility that's chosen and intentional, not the job-loss/cuts-to-social-services/increasing-wealth-disparity kind.]
But I know what the graffiti means – it means that the writer is sick of people who act like they don’t have money when actually they do. Personally, I lived this problematic phenomenon for several years after high school, which I spent hitchhiking, trainhopping, and dumpster diving my way around the country in the company of other freewheeling punk youth who (like me) often lacked a particularly tight race and class analysis. I have a multifaceted critique of this time in my life – on one hand, it was defined by the bad type of ”downward mobility” that rightfully gets a lot of criticism. Many of us had access to wealthy parents, private educations, and all the other safety nets common to privileged young people, which we generally never talked about. Does anyone else remember that Crimethinc book that said something like, “Poverty, homelessness, unemployment: If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right”? That attitude characterized a lot of the worst manifestations of punk traveler culture: privileged white kids temporarily rejecting middle- and upper-class lifestyles without much real critique about poverty and white supremacy, and then getting really self righteous about our subcultural choices. In retrospect, I feel so regretful about the arrogant glorification of poverty that was common in that scene, and how it contributed to invisibilizing the struggles of poor people and the real violence of poverty.
Moscow Through Brown Eyes – Race, Gender, and More Violence in Moscow
SOVA reports:
- On 27 January 2009, a twenty-four year old Nigerian was beaten at a bus stop near Metro Station Aviamotornaia. As the Nigerian was talking with his Russian girlfriend, a young man approached him and asked what was going on. Then the man called out to two of his friends and, with cries of “Russia, Russia!” they started to beat the Nigerian. The attacked man incurred minor wounds to his face. He is certain that the attack was racially motivated.*
Serious question: does this type of virulent nationalism ever NOT come in a package deal with sexist ideas about the protection of women?
Living in Barbados – Race to Where?
Within the world of race and racial issues, Barbados can often seem peculiar–not unique. The country is predominantly black (of African origin), and for centuries was run by whites (Britons of various origins). Over time, economic and political power resided in the hands of whites. From its independence in 1966, political power was transferred from whites to black as the British withdrew as colonial masters and handed this over to elected representatives who were mainly from the black majority. Economic power in Barbados, however, tended to remain concentrated in the hands of a few white families. In recent years, that has changed to some degree as one of Barbados’ neighbours, Trinidad, gained economic power and looked to expand and diversify its economy: Trinidadian-owned companies have been buying into the Barbadian economy. While that has changed the colour of some economic power in Barbados, it has also introduced a different racial element, which is illuminating because it shows that racism is not first and foremost about colour.
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