[WAsummit] Using the language of privilege

[Nancy]

Re: [WAsummit] Using the language of privilegeHi - I've loved this conversation. I'm taking the dialogue to our Saturday Dialogue this Saturday - if any local folx are interested - 1-4PM at the Neibold-Proctor Marxist Library in North Oakland. Our topic this week is white supremacy - what does it mean, how do you react when you hear it, where do you use it and with whom...so this dialogue gives a different perspective.

I think it all depends on the level of awareness the audience has. It is very different for beginners than veterans in the field. 

I think the terms white supremacy or white supremacist system is far more scary than white privilege for most white folx to hear, so I rarely use white supremacy unless I'm preaching to the choir.It has taken me some time to get it out of my own mouth without slurring. White privilege still works for me, but I do have to make it clear that white skin privilege is different from class privilege, and doesn't mean support for white supremacy. I try to get people to see some of the for instances of where they do have it, whether or not they want it or even if they think they don't have it. I will often use examples from Peggy McIntosh. At least some which are class-free. 

I agree that people love to hide behind arguing about words - it avoids getting the reality of the issue, and defensiveness protects  against becoming aware of the nastiness of privilege and white supremacy. It is uncomfortable for people to begin to look at, so of course they are likely to react to words that seem deprecating to their identity. I try to engage about that.

Class, for working class and poor folx, is always way pertinent, and it is useful to speak to intersections of "isms" - that validates every person who feels marginalized in some way, without arguing about which is worse, but that they really do compound geometrically, as Jack said - multiple "isms" are harder. But at least today racism seems like the "glue" that is holding all of the other "isms" together in one lump of injustice and inequity.

I'm interested if anyone comes up with a new and better term. Time for language development?

nancy
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Frances Kendall 
  To: White Anti-racist Summit 
  Sent: Monday, September 21, 2009 1:05 PM
  Subject: Re: [WAsummit] Using the language of privilege



  Hello folks,
  I need some feedback, please. For the third time in 2 weeks, I have heard people say that "privilege" is no longer a useful word (when related to oppression, I guess) and that they would prefer me to use another word. My belief is that people are scared that the word puts whites off. Anybody else heard about this?

  Thanks.

  Francie

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