Words matter. Language has the power to heal, hurt, celebrate, or condemn. We can speak the same language, use the same words, and still not mean the same thing. I do not mean toe-May-toe
. Nor do I mean elevator vs. lift or apartment vs. flat.
So, what do
I mean? I mean, to quote Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride
, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.”
Powerful words used once incorrectly create misunderstanding and conflict. Below is my attempt to share more holistic, inclusive, and healing definitions in the context of social justice. To use this guide, we have to acknowledge that words have been used to dehumanize and reduce the value of people in this country. Those words can be tied to race, social economics, gender, national origin, and more. This is not a definitive list, but it’s the first in an ongoing occasional series to get to the heart of the words we say so often but do not truly understand.
. Oh yes, I am starting here. When you read dictionary definitions, they often over-simplify what racism is. Things like Merriam-Webster
’s definition of racism: “racial differences produce an inherent superiority of a particular race.” To me, this is only a preamble, and a messy one, at that, as it gives all of us the same racial power and standing. However, I know that as a Black woman, I can feel all the superiority in the world, but without any systemic power that I can wield to support that idea, any feelings I may have of “racial superiority” has the same impact as a slogan on a mug. You can see it, roll your eyes at it, but it won’t impact you getting a house loan, stopped by the police, more disciplined by a teacher, poor health care, or lower grades in school. Your annoyance of seeing my “Black is Beautiful” mug won’t take years off your life.
gets more to the point with its second entry, which hits on the key ingredient, central to what makes racism work: “the systemic oppression of a racial group to the social, economic, and political advantage of another specifically white supremacy.”
That's it, Webster
! The system, that power backing white supremacy, is the key. Without it, you do not have racism. So racism is an inherent belief in the existence of different races within the one human race and a racial hierarchy with whiteness as the top, which is centered, celebrated, and maintained by systematic oppression of those not identified as white.
. If you are to trust your Twitter and Facebook timelines — and don’t we all? — we are led to believe that there are a few horribly ignorant white supremacists and Nazis around but, for the most part, whiteness is benign. However, I am more of the hip-hop artist Guante’s school of thought that “white supremacy is not a shark, it is the water.”
White supremacy is: 1. The acceptance that, although we are all one human race, different skin color or national origin or ancestry equals a different species or race. 2. That there is a hierarchy of these races. 3. That whiteness is a biological fact and not a social construct 4. White cards are given out like Scouting Merit Badges, you “earn” them one at a time. (Check out the history of when Irish and Italians became white.) 5. You believe that whiteness and white people are the superior of all other human beings, manifested in white people taking up most of your attention, references, cultural interests, and life being centered on whiteness.
Does that sound like you? Well, growing up in America, we are trained to be a white supremacist — through our media, our education system, the arts, even many of our houses of worship. We are taught to believe that superheroes, presidents, CEOs, and god are all white men. That the epitome of beauty is a white woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. That the bad girl has dark hair, and the criminal girl has black skin.
To grow up in America is to be trained in white supremacy. We have to unlearn it. It’s a very long process to overcome the water we are all swimming in. We can point to big bad men in white hoods and laughable bad mustaches, but the “nice white lady,” the doctor, the nurse who does not give a Black child painkillers because they are “stronger” or “do not feel pain.” Or the “nice white lady” who works in the store and always pays a little extra attention to the Black customers. Or the “nice white lady” teacher who grades and disciplines her Black and Brown students differently than her white students. These are white supremacists who do a lifetime of damage, and worse.
The question is not, “How many white supremacists are in America?” The question is, “How many of us aren’t whites supremacists?” How can we learn to unlearn with them? Because this country is worse than “a house divided.” Our country’s foundation was poured with blood from the genocide of Native Americans and enslavement of Africans. With a first floor of exploiting workers, the poor, and women of all colors. And a second floor of American exceptionalism and anti-intelligence, all covered with a flimsy roof of celebrity worship.
How long before the house collapses?
Maneno yana maana. Lugha ina nguvu ya kuponya, kuumiza, kusherehekea, au kulaani. Tunaweza kuzungumza lugha ileile, kutumia maneno yaleyale, na bado tusimaanishe jambo lilelile. Mimi si maana toe-May-toe. Wala sikusema lifti dhidi ya lifti au nyumba dhidi ya ghorofa. Kwa hiyo, ninamaanisha nini? Namaanisha, kunukuu Inigo Montoya katika The Princess Bride, <unk>Unaendelea kutumia neno hilo. Sidhani kama inamaanisha kile unachofikiri inamaanisha. Maneno yenye nguvu yanayotumiwa mara moja vibaya huunda kutoelewana na mgogoro. Chini ni jaribio langu la kushiriki ufafanuzi zaidi wa jumla, wa kujumuisha, na wa uponyaji katika muktadha wa haki ya kijamii. "Kutumia mwongozo huu, ni lazima tukubali kwamba maneno yametumika kuondoa utu na kupunguza thamani ya watu katika nchi hii.""" Maneno hayo yanaweza kuhusianishwa na jamii, uchumi wa kijamii, jinsia, asili ya kitaifa, na mengineyo. Hii si orodha ya mwisho, lakini ni ya kwanza katika mfululizo wa mara kwa mara unaoendelea kupata moyo wa maneno tunayosema mara nyingi lakini hatuelewi kweli. . Oh ndiyo, mimi nina kuanza hapa. Unaposoma ufafanuzi wa kamusi, mara nyingi wao hupunguza sana ufahamu wa ubaguzi wa rangi. "Mara nyingi, Merriam-Webster alitoa ufafanuzi wa ubaguzi wa rangi, ""tofauti za rangi zinazalisha ubora wa asili wa jamii fulani,"" lakini kwa maoni yangu, hii ni utangulizi tu, na ni moja ya fujo, kwa kuwa inatoa sisi sote nguvu na msimamo wa rangi sawa." "Hata hivyo, najua kuwa kama mwanamke mweusi, naweza kuhisi ubora wote duniani, lakini bila nguvu yoyote ya mfumo ambayo ninaweza kutumia kuunga mkono wazo hilo, hisia zozote ambazo ninaweza kuwa nazo za ""ubaguzi wa rangi"" zina athari sawa na kauli mbiu kwenye kikombe." Unaweza kuiona, kuigeuza macho yako juu yake, lakini haitakuathiri kupata mkopo wa nyumba, kusimamishwa na polisi, nidhamu zaidi na mwalimu, huduma duni za afya, au alama za chini shuleni. Uchungu wako wa kuona kikombe changu cha "Black is Beautiful" haitakupunguza miaka ya maisha yako. "Kama ilivyoelezwa hapo juu, ""Utawala wa ubaguzi wa rangi ni ukandamizaji wa mfumo wa kikundi cha rangi kwa faida ya kijamii, kiuchumi, na kisiasa ya upendeleo mwingine wa wazi.""" Mfumo, huo nguvu inayounga mkono utawala wa wazungu, ndio ufunguo. Bila hiyo, huwezi kuwa na ubaguzi wa rangi. "Kusema hivyo, ubaguzi wa rangi ni imani ya asili katika kuwepo kwa jamii tofauti ndani ya jamii moja ya kibinadamu na uongozi wa rangi na weupe kama juu, ambayo ni katikati, kusherehekewa, na kudumishwa na ukandamizaji wa kimfumo wa wale ambao hawajatambuliwa kama weupe. """ . Kama wewe ni kuamini yako Twitter na Facebook timelines <unk> na si sisi wote?  tunaongozwa kuamini kwamba kuna wachache wa ajabu wasio na ujuzi wa wazungu na Wanazi karibu lakini, kwa sehemu kubwa, uzungu ni wema. Hata hivyo, mimi ni zaidi ya hip-hop msanii Guante's shule ya mawazo kwamba <unk>upendeleo mweupe si papa, ni maji.<unk> Upendeleo mweupe ni: 1. "Kukubali kwamba, ingawa sisi sote ni jamii moja ya kibinadamu, rangi tofauti ya ngozi au asili tofauti ya kitaifa au ukoo sawa na spishi tofauti au jamii tofauti.""" 2. Uwezekano wa kupata Kuna utaratibu wa cheo wa jamii hizi. 3. Uwe na mtazamo wa kweli Uweupe ni ukweli wa kibiolojia na sio muundo wa kijamii. Kadi nyeupe hutolewa kama Scouts Merit Badges, wewe <unk>kupata<unk> yao moja kwa wakati. (Tazama historia ya wakati Wairelandi na Waitaliano walipokuwa weupe.) 5. Uwe na mtazamo mzuri. Unaamini kuwa wazungu na wazungu ni bora kuliko wanadamu wengine wote, unajionyesha katika wazungu kuchukua zaidi ya tahadhari yako, marejeo, maslahi ya kitamaduni, na maisha kuwa katikati ya wazungu. Je, hilo linasikika kuwa jambo lako? Kwa kweli, kukua katika Amerika, sisi ni mafunzo ya kuwa nyeupe supremacist - kupitia vyombo vya habari vyetu, mfumo wetu wa elimu, sanaa, hata wengi wa nyumba zetu za ibada. Tunafundishwa kuamini kwamba mashujaa, marais, Mkurugenzi Mtendaji, na Mungu wote ni watu weupe. Urembo wa kawaida ni mwanamke mweupe mwenye nywele za rangi ya manjano na macho ya bluu. Msichana mbaya ana nywele nyeusi, na msichana wa uhalifu ana ngozi nyeusi. Kukua katika Marekani ni kuwa mafunzo katika utawala mweupe. Ni lazima tuisahau. Ni mchakato mrefu sana kushinda maji sisi sote ni kuogelea katika. Tunaweza kuonyesha wanaume wakubwa wabaya wenye kofia nyeupe na ndevu mbaya za kuchekesha, lakini <unk>mwanamke mweupe mzuri,<unk>daktari, muuguzi ambaye haitoi dawa za kupunguza maumivu kwa mtoto mweusi kwa sababu <unk>wana nguvu<unk> au <unk>haoni maumivu.<unk> Au <unk>mwanamke mweupe mzuri<unk> ambaye anafanya kazi dukani na daima hutoa uangalifu wa ziada kwa wateja weusi. Au mwalimu wa "mwanamke mweupe mzuri" ambaye huwapa wanafunzi wake weusi na weusi viwango na nidhamu tofauti na wanafunzi wake weupe. "Watu hawa ni wazalendo wazungu ambao hufanya uharibifu wa maisha, na mbaya zaidi.""" "Swali si, ""Ni wazungu wangapi wanaopendelea ubaguzi wa rangi nchini Marekani?"" swali ni, ""Ni wangapi kati yetu ambao si wazungu wanaopendelea ubaguzi wa rangi?"" Jinsi gani tunaweza kujifunza kuondoa ubaguzi wa rangi pamoja nao?" "Kwa sababu nchi hii ni mbaya zaidi kuliko nyumba iliyogawanyika, misingi ya nchi yetu ilimwaga damu kutokana na mauaji ya Wenyeji wa Amerika na utumwa wa Waafrika. """ Kwa orofa ya kwanza ya wafanyakazi wanaotumia vibaya, maskini, na wanawake wa rangi zote. Na ghorofa ya pili ya Marekani exceptionalism na kupambana na ujasusi, wote kufunikwa na paa dhaifu ya ibada ya mtu mashuhuri. Ni muda gani kabla ya nyumba hiyo kuanguka?