To pin or not to pin
Nov. 17th, 2016 11:28 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
drwex(Brief aside: your word for today is "kakistocracy")
Today I'm wearing a safety pin to work. I've been debating about whether I should do so - whether I have the right, whether doing so will help or hurt. Last night over dinner I discussed with![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
silentq and she suggested I should do it. Further input is sought.
Here's a bit of my thought process...
For comparison, I'm both happy and proud to wear a Backup Project ribbon at Arisia. When I'm there I feel I'm part of an organization that is taking active steps to create and promote an inclusive, harassment-free, diverse event and environment. I wear a Staff ribbon as part of the group that organizes and puts on the con and I think it's important to pair those two things. I want myself and other Staff to be examples of the best our community can be.
Now step outside the bubble of Arisia and into late-2016 America. The safety pin is intended as a symbol of personal promise to stand up against similar things - harassment, hatred, phobias and *isms like isolationism, racism, and sexism. It's a statement against hate, and particularly the hate that Trump gave voice to that came from the basket of deplorables within his supporters. [1]
The problem is that basket of deplorables, that core of hate, is me/us. It's white guys. Trumpism is a white guy problem - we made him and it's on us to fix this. When a person of color, or a woman, wears a pin they are making a statement of peer support. As a cis, able, white guy with a good job I'm in a position of great privilege and also likely to avoid direct ill effects of Trumpism. That my friends and people I care about will be hurt is virtually certain but you can't know that from looking at me.
[1] I still think it's important to identify distinctions between "Trump voter" and the core racists, anti-Semites, sexists, and bigots within that group. It's mostly aside from this post, though.
So, friends, what do you think when you see a white guy wearing a pin? What if you saw me wearing one? Am I helping, or possibly making things worse?
Today I'm wearing a safety pin to work. I've been debating about whether I should do so - whether I have the right, whether doing so will help or hurt. Last night over dinner I discussed with
silentq and she suggested I should do it. Further input is sought.Here's a bit of my thought process...
For comparison, I'm both happy and proud to wear a Backup Project ribbon at Arisia. When I'm there I feel I'm part of an organization that is taking active steps to create and promote an inclusive, harassment-free, diverse event and environment. I wear a Staff ribbon as part of the group that organizes and puts on the con and I think it's important to pair those two things. I want myself and other Staff to be examples of the best our community can be.
Now step outside the bubble of Arisia and into late-2016 America. The safety pin is intended as a symbol of personal promise to stand up against similar things - harassment, hatred, phobias and *isms like isolationism, racism, and sexism. It's a statement against hate, and particularly the hate that Trump gave voice to that came from the basket of deplorables within his supporters. [1]
The problem is that basket of deplorables, that core of hate, is me/us. It's white guys. Trumpism is a white guy problem - we made him and it's on us to fix this. When a person of color, or a woman, wears a pin they are making a statement of peer support. As a cis, able, white guy with a good job I'm in a position of great privilege and also likely to avoid direct ill effects of Trumpism. That my friends and people I care about will be hurt is virtually certain but you can't know that from looking at me.
[1] I still think it's important to identify distinctions between "Trump voter" and the core racists, anti-Semites, sexists, and bigots within that group. It's mostly aside from this post, though.
So, friends, what do you think when you see a white guy wearing a pin? What if you saw me wearing one? Am I helping, or possibly making things worse?
no subject
Date: 2016-11-17 06:38 pm (UTC)One female friend responded: I haven't hit my limit of seeing guys complain about this, so yeah, signal boost.
Hello, yawning pit of one response speaking for an entire demographic, how are you. So yes, I'm trying to keep my eyes and ears and trying to be aware that I'm almost certainly suffering from confirmation bias.