General Politics Discussion (VI) [ARCHIVED] • Page 864

Practically twins.

 

who's going to tell them

 

Oh Power 99.

 

Billionaire insists he has legal parking spot on West Village street, infuriating neighbors who say he created a fake space for himself

Lol rich people are so petty and have the most obscene sense of entitlement.

 

She got better though...

 

I had to read the article from a different source since WaPo is behind a paywall, but these fucks spray paint 50-100 pieces of racist, homophobic and anti-Semitic stuff on school property and their punishment is spending every weekend in jail for a few months? Literally like 16 days in jail, only on the weekends. Cool, cool.

 

so will Obama after Mitch threw him under the bus lol

 

Better?

 

(I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m trying to delete it)

 

I, uh, took this post a different way...

 

Made this mistake of looking at the comments on a Nike baseball Instagram post about cleats. Wtf is wrong with people?

 

lol using “commerce to hurt the enemy”

 

I feel sick

 

I hope Tucker has a stroke in his sleep

 

Sorry if this isn’t the place but I’m living in the Midwest and have been struggling a lot recently with having to hear people be tone deaf and make insensitive jokes with politics and race. How do you talk to people in your life without sounding preach-y or like you think you’re above them? Anyone have any successful methods? Don’t want to constantly argue with people but also don’t want to hear that stuff and let people think it’s okay to say.

 

Hey, I feel this - I lived in southwest Ohio until very recently (just moved to Chicago for a new job). There's not a one-size fits all method that i've found that's worked, and so much of it depends on what you're comfortable with. I've gotten to hear a lot of organizers, from a variety of causes and backgrounds, address this question though. Here is how it's generally went for me (speaking as a cookie-cutter white dude), esp. with family, classmates, or coworkers, and it's yielded some results:

1) Assess yourself - do the ways in which you might have privilege allow you to safely confront these folks? If you evaluate the situation and feel like you would not be safe (for instance, if you're a person of color or an immigrant or LGBT, or if you are dealing with someone who has political or economic leverage over you), don't chance it, and instead look for support from folks who can engage in those spaces without being at risk, if applicable. If you can engage, what are your motivations for wanting to confront them? If you're coming from a genuine place, you won't sound preachy to anyone who is open to hearing from you.

2) Assess them - why do they seem to think it's okay to say this stuff? what motivates them? who are they saying these things for - is it themselves or because they're trying to fit in with other intolerant people? Are they ignorant or actively hateful? It's important to understand that these attitudes are formed by the conditions people grow in -

3) Can you persuade them in conversation? Will they be receptive if you say that you don't think it's cool or funny? If so, present a multi-pronged case against the things they're saying, founded on empathy for the people they're mocking, solidarity (we're not that different, we're in the same fight, etc.), and belief that they can be better family members/community members/coworkers if they stop talking like this. Make it clear that you don't think it's interesting or edgy or funny, you just think it's boring and bad for the world.

4) If they aren't persuadable through conversation, are you in a position to make a demand that they stop saying these things? I've told my father and grandfather that i don't want my children to hear them talk the way they do because i don't want them to think it's okay to say or believe racist/sexist/classist things, and that if they continue to do so they won't be a part of their life. If their heart isn't going to be different, at least maybe you can stop or limit the amount of toxic shit they put out into the world.

5) Ultimately, distinguish between who you can move and who you can't - You aren't going to be able to change every heart and mind, some people just need to be defeated. If someone says something stupid and is unrepentant about it, go ahead and make them look and feel stupid. Do the hard work, if you're at all able, to win political victories against them. For every person we can't move, we have to commit ourselves that much more to support and build solidarity with the oppressed folks they make life harder for, and focus on achieving justice with them. If we are in spaces with people who say and do offensive shit and we can navigate them without risking harm based on our identity, I believe we have a responsibility to do so.

Some of that is probably really dumb and ineffective. And again, i'm only able to operate in some of these spaces because I'm protected by privilege (a word that's increasingly bastardized, but i think is helpful in this context). I've been doing political work for the past decade in the midwest, on top of just being openly a socialist among my conservative/politically-confused family, and feel that these steps have made some difference in my daily interactions with certain people.