Carlos, forgive my apparent ignorance but since, in race and culture
studies, Black is often used as a unitary political term which incorporates
many different races, how would you explain suggestions that
Afro-Caribbeans can be prejudiced against Asians and vice-versa and what
would you call it? I do accept there is a power differential between me as
a white woman and a Black woman; however I would have difficulty in
articulating this power differential if it was me as a white disabled woman
in relation to a Black non-disabled male.
In terms of sex discrimination law in the UK both men and women can
exercise sex discrimination. By extension, how do we deal with the
hierarchical organisation of the disabled community which means that some
'individuals' belonging to some 'classes' of disabled people discriminate
against others on the basis of impairment, but also gender, race, age and
so on, and vice versa and there is also a power differential involved here?
Is this what Anita was alluding to? Are you saying that types of oppression
are hierarchically organised and/or additive? I think these issues are
important for definitions and I seek only clarification.
Best wishes
Mairian
>Sorry ms Silvers, I have to disagree. In my opinion, Racism does two
>things, It requires a power differentional--which means that it 1) implies
>not only a white view, but 2)a SUPERIOR white view. while I can be a
>bigot, prejudice or I can just plain hate white people, I cannot--as a
>black woman--be racist. While I will agree that other groups can be
>racist, I think that you have to look at the societal position of that
>group because you can decide--yes the Chinese are (or were) racist. . .in
>China where other ethnic groups were the minority.
>
>At 10:20 AM 11/2/98 -0800, you wrote:
>>Racism by no means implies a white view. Blacks can be racist, Asians can
>>be racist, etc. The former president of SFSU, himself a mainland born
>>Chinese, often commented on how racist the Chinese can be. That
>>understanding was important in our workijg to bring groups into
>>cooperation and collaboration on a multiculture (not just a black/white)
>>campus
>>
>>On Mon, 2 Nov 1998, Simi Linton wrote:
>>
>>>
>>>
>>> Here's why I think ableism is *ok* (not good, but serviceable). Racist
>>> - doesnt just imply a white view, it implies a white supremacist view,
>>> similarly sexism - a view of male as supreme. SO - ableism to me
>>> doesn't reinforce the binary - able/disable referring to people, but
>>> critiques the power of the idea that there is such a binary, and that
>>> one side is better than the other. Now of course only the people on
>>> these lists understand the nuances of any of this so we're sending the
>>> ship out there with hope it sails on the course we want it to
>>> (aaghhhhh, my metaphors are nauseating even me this morning), so I am
>>> tentative in my endorsement, but think its the only game in town.
>>> simi linton
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> ---Ron Amundson <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > -----Original Message-----
>>> > From: Johnson Cheu <[log in to unmask]>
>>> > To: [log in to unmask]
>>> <[log in to unmask]>;
>>> > [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
>>> > Date: Sunday, November 01, 1998 9:46 PM
>>> > Subject: lexic. stuff
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > >Anita-- Respectfully, I disagree with your notion that "ability"
>>> doesn't
>>> > >have a biological dimension.
>>> >
>>> > Lemme take a shot at this one. Not because it will contribute to
>>> the lexic
>>> > choice, but just because it's there. ;-)
>>> >
>>> > Anita said:
>>> > >[Ableism] isn't parallel with the other notions. Race and sex are
>>> > >typically taken to be biological dimensions. Racism and sexism are
>>> the
>>> > >repression of people with certain configurations of (supposed)
>>> biological
>>> > >properties. Howeveer, "ability" is not a biological dimension.
>>> Impairment
>>> > >is parallel to race and sex, but the word "impairmentism" doesn't
>>> exist.
>>> >
>>> >
>>> > I don't think impairment is a parallel to race and sex, either.
>>> Race and
>>> > sex can be seen as dimensions of variation. Male vs. female,
>>> Caucasian vs.
>>> > Mongolian vs. etc., are variants on those dimensions. There is no
>>> term that
>>> > names the dimension on which ability (better "able-bodiedness") and
>>> > impairment are variants. That's why I wrote earlier that 'ableism'
>>> is more
>>> > like Joan's 'white supremacy' or 'misogyny' -- these labels indicate
>>> the
>>> > privileged variants on each dimension, not just the names of the
>>> dimensions
>>> > themselves (race and sex).
>>> >
>>> > But I think Anita's point may be that 'ability' is not a logical
>>> contrary to
>>> > 'disability'. One way to oppose disablement is to point out that
>>> impaired
>>> > people do not necessarily lack ability. When they do it usually
>>> results
>
>>> > from social contexts. This depends, of course, on how the 'ability'
>>> in
>>> > question is defined. Johnson is right that 'ability' is frequently
>>> defined
>>> > biologically, as the biological ability to perform certain body
>>> movements or
>>> > perceptual discriminations. In that sense, 'ability' is a biological
>>> > dimension. But I don't think we want to endorse or encourage the
>>> biological
>>> > definitions of 'ability'. Such non-biological 'abilities' as
>>> > self-determination are valued by everyone. Under current social
>>> > arrangements, the non-biological ability of self-determination is
>>> linked far
>>> > too closely to 'normal' biological abilities. No one should be
>>> ashamed of
>>> > being an 'ableist' if it means that they prefer self-determination to
>>> > oppression. The term 'ability' stretches to fit both biological and
>>> > non-biological achievements, and that's a problem. At least for
>>> compusive
>>> > semanticists like me.
>>> >
>>> > On the other hand, currency of use has a lot of pragmatic value.
>>> The term
>>> > 'ableism' isn't in daily use on my island. ("Stop blocking the curb
>>> cut,
>>> > you ableist pig!") But if it is elsewhere, that's in its favor.
>>> >
>>> > Ron
>>> >
>>> > __
>>> > Ron Amundson
>>> > University of Hawaii at Hilo
>>> > Hilo, HI 96720-4091
>>> > [log in to unmask]
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>> >
>>>
>>> ==
>>> |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|
>>> Simi Linton
>>> [log in to unmask]
>>> 212 580 9280 (phone and fax)
>>> |~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|~|
>>>
>>> _________________________________________________________
>>> DO YOU YAHOO!?
>>> Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com
>>>
>>>
>>
>Carlos Clarke Drazen
>Project Coordinator
>Department on Disability and Human Development
>University of Illinois at Chicago
>1640 w. Roosevelt Road m/c 626
>Chicago, IL 60608
>312.413-7520 v
>312.413-2819 fx
>[log in to unmask]
>"When we make plans, . . .God laughs! . . ."
>--Talmud.
*********
"To understand what I am doing, you need a third eye"
*********
Mairian Corker
Senior Research Fellow
University of Central Lancashire
c/o 111 Balfour Road
Highbury
London N5 2HE
U.K.
Minicom/TTY +44 [0]171 359 8085
Fax +44 [0]870 0553967
Typetalk (voice) +44 [0]800 515152 (and ask for minicom/TTY number)
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