racism talks

Today has been very...work-heavy.  But before I get into that, I do want to get into the bullshit that went down with my undergrads this morning.  Let's just say I was not too happy when I left because of the conversation that went down.

So, we were discussing how people choose to vote and everything.  And we were talking about how people identify with political parties.  My class is predominantly white, and this one is very conservative overall (or at least, those who speak up the most are more conservative).  One of my students, who is Latina, brought up the fact that Mexican-Americans are still discriminated against: she said that even though a lot of them are actually conservative, it is hard for them to vote Republican with all the discriminatory laws against them.  She specifically brought up that in schools in Arizona, there is a push to cut all Mexican-American history classes because they are "promoting hatred of America," meanwhile, that history is important to Mexican-American students who are constantly told they will not succeed in school.  Everything she said was from personal experience and is important to listen to.

Except I'm pretty sure that I am the only one who actually listened to her.

Instead of agreeing that yes, people of colour still have it worse than whites in this country, everyone started making a fuss about how "it isn't about race" and that "the Irish were discriminated against too!"  It was just overwhelming privilege-denying and a refusal to actually listen to the one person in there (I usually have two more students who are women of colour too but they were not there today) who could truly say something about racism.  They started bringing up the fact that "well we don't need Mexican-American history because that is covered in World History!"  And I, despite usually wanting to remain as outside the conversation as possible, brought up that World History classes are still very centered on Europe, with a secondary focus on Asia.  But fuck, world history is really European history sprinkled with some other places.

Then, at one point, someone said that the Irish were seen as on the same level as black Americans, and I stopped him immediately.  Because that is disgustingly false, and yes, while the Irish faced hard times, it was and is nowhere near the level of discrimination people of colour faced and still face (ex. Irish Americans were never seen as property).  And the Irish do not have to deal with discrimination now, whereas people of colour still do.

I could tell that she was getting really upset, and I was getting really angry, so I stopped the conversation.  No one was listening to her, which was making me really fucking angry, because I don't know why it is so fucking hard for white people to admit that yes, they have had some advantages because of their race, and they cannot understand what it is like to be a nonwhite individual!

I talked to her afterward, and felt horrible when she started crying, saying that she normally hates that type of conversation because that is what happens.  People do not listen to her.  I allowed her to talk to me, and listened to what she had to say, and told her that I myself was getting angry; she pointed out some of her classmates' hypocrisy: they want people to do research when they decide to vote, but are incredibly ignorant when it comes to race relations.  And I agreed.  We talked about how history in America is predominantly white and male and that it is important for other histories to be taught as well.  I told her that I really can't understand what she goes through, as I am a white woman, and that I hope at least some people will stop talking over her and start listening to her.

Because seriously, that shit needs to happen.

The fact that a woman of colour can't have a conversation about race without a bunch of white people (mostly guys) telling her she's wrong is gross.  The fact that she started crying is not surprising, but it is still really really upsetting, and I'm not even in her shoes.

The whole thing pissed me off greatly.


Anyway, after that, I was in methods until around 1, and then immediately went to the extra game theory session that my professor was doing.  It lasted around four hours, so I am kind of shot.  But I want to edit my review after eating and then I want to just watch a movie with friends.  I should try to clean a little too, since the prospective is coming tomorrow and I know for a fact my roommate isn't going to lift a goddamn finger.