It is something often tiring, and sometimes heartbreaking or infuriating, but it is important to engage, and it can be inspiring, too. And because the more of us engage that fight, the closer we are to a day when we don't have to focus on it as much.

I couldn't have said it better. There's so much prejudice and privilege and it hurts so many people for so many different reasons.

I like to think that if I were cis - not trans - that I would care as much as I do, but I don't know if I believe myself when I think that.

if not for empathy, perhaps. which i know you have. and i have. and were it not for that, i'd only be able to sympathize with those who've been through my exact steps. for me, a lot began with my own journey. then i began to notice how much racism and sexism shared. and then i began looking at myself harder. and then i spread that out, whenever i can, wherever i can. the more people i can hope to understand, the better.

I am among the most privileged in our society. I am white, of predominantly Anglo-Saxon extraction, come from a Protestant background, a middle-class background, I am heterosexual, cis-gendered, had an excellent education at an excellent public school, grew up in a homogeneous environment surrounded by people like myself. The only thing I lack to be part of the most privileged group is a penis.

I care about these issues deeply. I write about them constantly. I participate in discussions on race relations, feminism, and gender issues all the time. I constantly check myself on these things, knowing that I have picked up nasty habits. I'm far from eradicating this evil.

All this to point out that if one has the soul to care about morals/ethics/rightness, it does not matter which type of meat sack we were born into.

Further, all these -isms are killing all of us. The worst of it is being perpetrated upon minorities. What isn't really thought about by white folks is how it is corrupting the souls of white people, teaching us denial and acceptance of evil as long as it's directed at someone Not Us. If these things were not taught, the current administration would not have been elected, let alone get away with the violations of the Constitution they do. That's just one example, there are many. So, even if one does not have the soul I mentioned and one is all about one's own self-interest, it's still beneficial to fight these things in our society. I just wish more of "my" folks could see this.

Xenophobia is built into humans like it is all animals, and it was adaptive at one point when your village or whatever might have been at risk from whomever came down the pike,so to a degree it is always going to be there. However, racism is a cultural filter that is built on that foundation. In the Intro to Anthropology class I teach we go over the genetic difference btw "races"--the truth is there is more difference in the genetic material btw African and Indian elephants, or types of flies, than there are among humanity's "races." There is zero biological foundation these cultural notions. But even when students get concrete evidence for the reality of the illusion (so to speak) sometimes they won't accept it bc that cultural pull is so ingrained. There is, in the US, much egotistic and economic advantage to keeping that bigotry alive. However our predominant and backward notions of race and racism do not hold up cross-culturally, which is a bit of hope to cling to.

Christina, I do not mean to say that people born into privilege can't fight -isms. I'm talking only about myself. I don't know for sure. I like to think I would, but that world never was. Probably not worth worrying about, given that.

Great post, though.

Jena, yeah - I see skin color as being about as genetically relevant as the difference in fur color between a tortoiseshell and a siamese. Of course, socially...ugh. :(

Every "ism" is f**cked, we can't fix things with words, no one wants our love and compassion, people laugh at us when we bankrupt ourselves giving money, being too sincere makes us bores at parties, we can't bear to be hungry or cold or without wheels; we've fouled our nest, collectively, so utterly that there's no way it can continue to house us, every race alike, and there is just no hope, so make us laugh, dear pretend friend whom we will never meet, bitterly and from the depths of our bellies and at ourselves, because it is we ourselves whom we must change, and that is the least conquerable enemy.

The same folks that bring us fear of muslims are the folks that have a
vested interest in keeping racism alive.

Like breaking the cycle of abuse within a family, breaking the cycle of
racism is no easy task and it takes constant diligence.

But its easy to be diligent when you hear some dumb bitch behind you mumble
about 'those fucking mexicans' for no other reason than pure ignorance.

Dusty, there's an irony there in your last sentence.

Lisa, I know. I was saying that your soul shines through--you may doubt, but from what you've written (and we overlap at several blogs), I don't. You'd fight injustice because that is who you are and that is not dependent upon your trans experience.

beautiful words to live by Nezua, thanks.

we fight racism because it is evil, and despite ridiculous reports to the contrary, it exists, and takes an awful toll. thanks to all those fighters here.

Yes, race is a social, not biological construct. (E.g., it's made-up bullshit.) But why does it get the "let's just ignore it" option?

Do we do that with ethics or codes of honor? Live and let live when you find out your neighbor just loves himself some prostitutes? Or does that have an effect?

Do we do this with something far more innocuous, artistic styles? We easily go ballistic over things that are merely distasteful.

If humans went through so much trouble to construct race, why should we ignore it? If where I live, how much money I have, and how much money you have is explained by racial constructs, why should I ignore it?

And if one group has property that, but for race, would belong to me, and that property has given them health and prosperity and left me with sickness or other injustices, I would be not only a fool to ignore it, but would be betraying my peers and decendants.

We didn't make race, but someone else is profiting from it, and until we all get a fair cut off this racket, there is absolutely no moral justification for ignoring it.

And by the way, would someone please explain how one can avoid racism without seeing race? Not taking race into account on broad social issues is how the right wing frames racist screeds into P.C. monologues. ("This part of the population that is last-hired first-fired is clearly lazy. They just also happen to be black. . .) Have you ever heard of a doctor that cures diseases by ignoring them?

What?
The?
Fuck?

beautifully put. incisive questions. gracias.