One thing I think about daily when it comes to the critical theory I'm studying is how to properly put it into use in my day to day life. It's easy to forget the differences in discussion between spaces like our classroom discussing racism, and just day to day life being confronted with racist or other oppressive remarks.
To continue along the theme of mentioning television episodes, I am frequently reminded of a 30 Rock episode in which Liz Lemon dates Steven Black (played by Wayne Brady). If you haven't watched the show (you should), Liz Lemon is a great character in her portrayal of the 'well intended faulty liberal'. When a black man asks her out, her friend warns her of the potential cultural differences and Liz, of course, replies that "She is colorblind. When she is in the subway, she is just surrounded by scary teenage PEOPLE." The entire episode is a really interesting thing to watch in terms of race, but the plot arch of Liz's relationship is the main focus. She ultimately does not have much in common with Steven, but continues to date him for fear of seeming racist if she breaks up with him. In the end of the episode, she asks if there will ever be a world in which a white woman can break up with a black man and not be racist, and Steven Black responds that the world just is not there yet.
While it might not seem it thus far, this blog post is not about 30 Rock, it's about my constant wondering how to approach these sorts of conversations or situations outside of the classroom. It's easy to discuss how ridiculous the world is in terms of racist, racism, 'the colonial' who believes they aren't doing any harm, etc. but it becomes a lot more tricky when trying to decide what to do. I've found that many people are extremely against 'people who are too politically' correct. When a social justice activist gets offended by seemingly everything. The tumblr social justice culture, I personally think, has sort of given activism a bad name. Accepting the obvious premise that humans are fallible, even the most socially aware person can sometimes slip and say something potentially offensive. My ultimate question is: does this overt focus on offending others cause our social discussion to be behind? If we can't even discuss racist/sexist/classist issues because the language itself is almost seen as offensive, how are we going to progress at all? I know some people who feel awkward saying "black person", so even people who may be well intentioned could never really be educated because they're too afraid of offense. I do not want to suggest that we all just forget about social conduct and say whatever we want, but I feel like the focus should be on social progress, not 'what words should I not say' (I think that does need to be thought of, as well as the fact that language and words are powerful, but we can't easily talk about why cunt is considered one of the most offensive words without saying the word itself). I'm constantly getting annoyed by discussions that could be really productive being focused solely on political correctness. Do you all experience things like that? Can activism go 'too far'? Is all just a question of priorities?
I agree that the perceived need for political correctness can sometimes get in the way of progression. It is definitely true that in order to talk about whether something is offensive, people must talk about it, regardless of its political correctness. Also, I think that people sometimes speak in a way that holds back their contempt or their negative feelings, but in order for those feelings to be dealt with, they have to be acknowledged. Talking about issues in a way that tries to leave feelings out of the conversations takes away an opportunity to rectify those feelings.
ReplyDeleteI think this is an issue of "political correctness" being reoriented by those who do not want to have to talk about these issues as something that is stifling rather than something that is a part of social growth. I associate the phrase, "You're being too politically correct," with the phrase, "Oh, but I'm colorblind!" They are both a way of saying "I don't really want to talk about the issue that you're raising here, so I'm going to make it your problem, not mine." Experiences where people have told me to tone down political correctness: expressing discomfort at a racist joke, calling someone on the use of the word retard, using the term African-American. I share your frustration with the brand of activism that seeks to shut down these conversations, but I think that might be a case of weird liberal self-righteousness rather than too much political correctness. If you get to far on your high horse about issues of race, class, gender, etc., then it's easy to dismiss the really important discussions around these issues as too basic or offensive in themselves. The reality is, they are pretty offensive conversations, but that's because we live in a REALLY offensive cultural climate that is built on all kinds of oppression. Discussing these issues means confronting the reality of that offensiveness and having open conversations where people might feel stupid and might need to be called out, but that's kind of the point, and it shouldn't be a mean thing, just a self-aware/self-critical thing. That, to me, is political correctness: seeking to have a conversation that takes into consideration the needs and concerns of all people rather than a select few.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree with you, Sarah. I think I'm more referring to what you call 'weird liberal self-righteousness'. I guess I'm just really frustrated with what tends to happen in my life where I bring up some article or something I read, and I mention the author and whoever I'm talking to is like, "Ugh. I hate them. They're trans* phobic." etc. and while I acknowledge that they should not be trans* phobic, that doesn't mean everything they do is suddenly invalid. It's like people have this idea of a perfect activist in their mind, which just isn't true. Look back at all of our rights movements and they were oppressive to others as well (racist feminists, classist racial activists, etc).
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