General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Yes, this is still a racist, sexist, unequal world. [View all]cinnabonbon
(860 posts)I appreciate that. I am on my way out the door right now, so I'll just add a little pointer here, because I notice a misunderstanding. When we talk about minorities in this case, we're not basing on on numbers. We're talking about groups having little power or representation relative to other groups within a society. "The majority rules", after all, and in the UK and the rest of the west that's historically been mostly white men. So it's not math-based majority, it's power-based majority, if that makes any sense.
Interesting point about wankers, because I looked at it and figured it wasn't gendered. The more you know, I guess! Maybe it's one of those words you have to hear in the UK in order to 'get' it.
When we talk about racism in the west, we are usually referring to the white supremacy structure in western society that people of colour have to deal with. I know it's harsh to put it like that, but that's how it is. The West was structured around furthering white people's interest and protect the white people living in that country. It was perfectly logical to do that at the time because they needed imperialism to be accepted by society so they could go pillage foreign countries. But as the countries matured, the people simply internalized the messages about race and then thought that their biases were natural.
The same power structure doesn't work against white people in the same way it works against POC, so you might be met with confused looks if you say that whites experience racism. There is no structural, racist society that puts whites at the same disadvantage. Our politicians are turning our countries into police states against our will and that vulnerably, yucky feeling is certainly similar to feeling powerless! But feeling powerless isn't the same thing as being oppressed.
As you know, sexism and racism and all those isms hurt badly because the damage is being done by someone in power. They are striking down at a group of people who are already vulnerable in society, and using their skin/disability/gender/gender expression/sexuality against them). That's why I think it's so important to listen to oppressed people when they talk about the things that bothers them, because they know their oppression best. It can be uncomfortable to confront it in the beginning, though! Just a warning. It's perfectly normal to feel a little defensive.