“The question for me is how to critically interrogate the tensions between speech and silence without making myself into the righteous one, the all-knowing one, and the morally superior one. I believe strongly that white people need to step up and speak out in the face of injustices, and yet do so without making ourselves the center of power and knowledge” (Russo, p. 47).
This sentence can be found at the end of the reading we had a couple of weeks ago, “Between Speech and Silence: Reflections on Accountability”. It does a good job summing up what the author posits. As an active feminist that is also white, she argues that oftentimes white people, especially white women involved in the feminist movement--herself included--will take over conversations of feminism, whether accidentally or not. She goes on to say that she believes that this problem can be found within many movements, not just feminism (Russo).
Later, she argues that it can be difficult to be a white activist in a way, because it requires one to be aware of their own whiteness and the privilege associated with that. At the same time, however, she states that white supremacy and identity need to be pushed back. At the end, her conclusion brings it back to the point that there are times when it is best to speak and other times where it is best to be silent. However, being able to figure out when each should occur can be challenging, especially when a white person doesn’t want to assert their power by assuming they always know the answer to these questions. As well, it is tough to navigate how to speak up about issues but not bring the attention to those speaking up instead of those being affected (Russo).
The quote above is important, because it forces white people to consider their own impact on their activism and speaking out. Even these people speaking in discussions, not even necessarily actively engaging in activism, can silence those in marginalized groups--including people of color--even if that is not the intention of whoever is speaking up. To me, it makes me think about course material differently, because the article doesn’t advocate that is always the right choice to speak up, participate, or advocate for others as I would have assumed this class would’ve posited. Instead of just arguing that communicating about culture comes through statement of opinions or one’s own culture, Russo instead encourages whites to listen and be critically aware of their own presences as white people (or another privileged group). Doing so allows the space necessary for those less privileged to give their own opinions and speak about themselves, instead of someone from another culture speaking about one that is not their own. Because if one attempts this, it is possible--if not likely--that that information will not be completely correct, as it is not that person’s own culture. Really, the quote gets down to the fact that is not that white person’s place to discuss that culture, especially when someone from that culture is there to speak for themselves and their own culture instead.
I recently had to work through this dilemma with my roommate, a white, 21-year-old female. She called me one night a few weeks ago, crying because of a fight she had had with one of her friends. Over text, they had been discussing Trump’s inauguration. Eventually, my roommate said something along the lines that she found it terrible that so many people, especially people of color, were so affected by Trump winning the election that many were unable to go to classes the next day. Her friend got really offended, thinking that she meant that they shouldn’t have skipped. She said that she wasn’t there just to discuss being a “Nasty Woman” with regards only to white feminism. When I tried to help my roommate talk through all this, I explained to her (having just read this article a couple of days earlier) how her friend, a Latina, was likely not only struggling emotionally with the recent election but also very used to people making such remarks. As such, she was potentially quick--according to my roommate’s perception--to take my roommate's comment as offensive, even if she didn’t intend it to come across that way. I explained to my roommate how we are privileged by being white, whether we mean to be or not. We benefit from the system we are in based on the color of our skins, whether we want to or not.
She then told me how it was often difficult for her to be an activist, due to these challenging confines we’re in as white activists. She made many similar points as the article, saying how she wants to be able to have these conversations but doesn’t know quite how to when she is white. In the end, I ended up giving her the advice I had just learned, explaining it similarly to how this article ended up finishing. I said that she shouldn’t, of course, stop having these discussions, because people need to be thinking and worrying about things such as racism, whiteness, privilege, etc. But, at the same time, I told her it might be best to do so in a very subtle way, by engaging in these conversations carefully without accidentally dominating. In this case, then, I suggested simply clarifying what she meant to her friend. Then, I continued, perhaps my roommate could explain to her friend about the struggles she faces by trying to advocate as well as how she is not always quite sure about how to discuss these issues without accidentally putting herself in a potentially offensive spot for those that are not in that privileged space. This conversation and careful subtlety would allow her to keep speaking out for things that are important, but also allow those in marginalized groups, like her Latina friend, to have a space to discuss their own experiences and how they differ.
As well, that quote has personally been important in shifting my mindset of speaking up. I tend to be very quick to give my thoughts, especially in a classroom setting. For me, however, that was how I was taught to be a good student. I learned that participation was the way to get the teacher’s attention, was the way to get the right grades, and the way to show my intelligence. The Honors college has taught me similar perspectives, as well. (Thinking back, though, the Honors college is predominately white, arguably more so than the general Boise State population.) So this article has caused me not only to think about class material differently in that it has allowed me to not only think about how I talk--but also about how I stay silent and when (or when I should stay silent)--it has also forced me to think about it in every class I am. I have tried to step back further in every discussion to allow those who are potentially less inclined to speak, especially those in minority groups, the opportunity to share their opinion and their own experiences.
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