"Tanis M. Doe" wrote in part:
> Hello, I tried to clip only a portion of what carolyn said if it seeems
> out of context please refer to her posting today.
>
> "To put it in another way, a white person who is a part of the Black
> community is not a "comrade in oppression" -- in Frierean imagery -- for
> the same reason family members of Disabled people aren't. No matter how
> close one is to the Black community, no matter what one sees or
> experiences --including "oppression" -- by being a part of the Black
> community, if one is white,one is not going to experience the same
> oppression, deal with the same/similar discrimination, have the same
> issues with society, self, family, etc., as
> the individual one associates with.
>
> OHdear, here is a conflict. again we are polarizing or dualizing you are
> either black or white, but not both, or either a parent or disabled but
> not both.
No, this is not polarizing -- although I can see how someone could read it
that way. It is an attempt to be concise so as not to take up space with
what, I felt, was rather obvious and to stick with the one issue at hand and
not the complexities of identities, oppression and multiple identities,
passing, etc. My bad, I'll give a little less concise explanation and try to
stick to the issue -- "comrade in our oppression."
Yes, obviously, parents and family members can be Disabled and Black can also
be white and all of the above can be all of the above. Nowhere in my
previous statement did I say that this was not possible. However, what I did
say was that a parent/family member -- and this is where I believe I lost
some -- does not experience the same oppression as the Disabled person. If
one is Disabled and a parent/family member (as I and Tanis are), one
experiences similar oppression not because of one's family member status but
because one is Disabled.
The same is true when discussing race. One can, of course, be both Black and
white. However, when discussing the United States, at least, the law and
societal behaviors and beliefs say something quite different. The one drop
rule is still in effect. One's mixed heritage doesn't mean much if one is
willing to admit to even one African ancestor. And then there are those who
can pass who know more about DuBois's twoness than DuBois ever could. But
I'm getting off topic. In the US, one's white ancestry doesn't
matter/doesn't exist if one is both Black and white -- one could even argue
that the same is true if one is of Asian and or Hispanic and or Native
American decent and white. And I know this is throwing some into fits
because this has created a dichotomy. However, ignoring the realities of how
a society functions does not make it go away, cease to exist or change the
situation. If one does not acknowledge reality, one cannot examine or begin
to think about changing reality. And I'm off on a tangent again. To get
back on track and to rap this up, one can be both Black and white. However,
society (at least US society) is not going to act upon the idea of an
individual being both Black and white. In the US -- according to the law and
societal beliefs, one is either Black or one is not Black. All other
ancestry one may have does not matter or apply if one is Black. Therefore,
referring to someone as white and a part of the Black community means someone
with no admitted African ancestors -- therefore, not identifying as Black in
any way, shape or form -- and because of looks, socialization, and just plain
old standard US-variety societal psychosis does not experience the same
oppression as members of the Black community.
> Tanis here again the above was fromCarolyn- I feel again we are slipping
> into using disability as a master status when I strongly believe POVERTY
> and working class status have as much or more to do with power and
> powerlessness as race or disability. I know many children of Deaf adults,
> like white people in Black community, these children are HEARING but are
> raised in the opression of their parents and internalize alot of the
> culture that Deaf people bring. They may not be audioologically deaf but
> they are DEAf culturally- but there is a HUGE chasm betwee the profesional
> educated paid deaf who teach,,counsellor or research and the under
> educated unemployed poor deaf people. I hope my point is clear??? -
Yes, class is also an oppressor in a society -- no one said it wasn't.
However, white people who live in, are a part of the Black community and
hearing children of Deaf parents do not experience oppression in the same
manner that those who belong to/identify as being of the minority group do.
Yes, a hearing child can be socialized and, therefore, know and be Deaf
culturally -- as Lennard Davis has frequently pointed out, he is
bi-cultural. And, as Lennard Davis has also, and as frequently, pointed out
he is not Deaf and has not experienced the discrimination, prejudice, "what
it's like to be deaf," oppression, etc., that someone who is Deaf/deaf does.
The same is true of a white person who is a part of the Black community and
or a family member of a Disabled person.
If one fits in more than one category, of course, one's experiences and
ability to empathize based upon a similarly statused position
(Disabled/Disabled, Black/Black, one who can pass/one who can pass, etc.)
will make one able to be a real "comrade in our oppression" because it will
truly be "our oppression." However, to suggest that one experiences
oppression simply due to one's relationship or proximity (geographical
location) to an oppressed group or individual and, therefore, one is a
"comrade" in oppression is well, laying it on a tad thick.
Now that I've played in the proverbial dung heap for a bit, I'll take the hip
boots off.
--
Carolyn
check out, "Passing, Invisibility and Other Psychotic Stuff" at
http://www.tell-us-your-story.com/_disc68r/00000003.htm
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