peecharrific:

“but i’ll just say this: be upset with me if you want to - but don’t use me as the pinnacle of black women cos i don’t speak for anybody but myself. i speak for me because i don’t see a representation of me in any of those photos. i don’t see a representation of a fat black girl who just wanted some justice. i don’t see a representation of a sex worker still walking the streets who deserves safety too. i don’t see a representation of a mexican woman who is being assaulted by her husband but can’t report it because she’ll be deported if she does. i don’t see a representation of black kids who are molested every day of their lives in a foster home. i don’t see any of that in slutwalk. i don’t see a representation of the 80 year old woman who is being sexually assaulted at the nursing facility where she lives who can’t tell anyone because her entire family has abandoned her and no one who works there gives a damn anyway. i see a bunch of white girls, 30 and under, walking around half naked, spreading one clear and very concise message: look at me, i’m sandra dee. look at me. look at me. look at me. no one else, just me. all i ever wanted to know from slutwalk was: what about the rest of us?”

—

peech on slutwalk nyc (taken from here)

so part of the thing about not speaking for people is to enable them to speak for themselves. the question becomes why arent the folks you pointed out as not being represented being represented? obviously the straight/cis/white representation of things cannot account for these array of things. its not their job to hold up signs about the mexican woman who will be deported— they cannot do the job that someone who is more intimately involved with the realities of deportation and sexual assault can do.

so

1- why arent these representations taking place, beyond ‘because white people dont know how to do shit’

and

2- how do we encourage these people/related people/etc to represent these scenarios?

and 3- unless someone is coercively leaving you out of the loop, how can we enable a coalition *with* the rest of us?

(via weexist-weresist)

well for starters when people point out that sign was racist, don’t point the finger or make excuses- apologize and listen.

not to mention that i don’t even know if they can because many poc don’t even want to reclaim the word slut to begin with. i’m pretty much thinking at this point, it is not a movement for people of color, and that is fine. whatever. do yo thang. just don’t expect me to support you when it hurts me simultaneously.

(via theoceanandthesky)

tired of people snipping my blogs and posting a bit of it somewhere else. it’d be different if the blog post didn’t come from tumblr but it’s right here where you can just click reblog and then click “as quote” or “as text” or some shit.[/vent]

anyway. lemme tell you why we aren’t represented and why we aren’t present:

nobody who lives in a nursing facility is going to be able to get together the other people and start a damn revolution over their blended peas. that’s not going to happen. go visit a nursing facility and let me know your findings.

do you really think if a woman who won’t talk to the police because she is in fear of deportation (which is a REAL fear - especially these days) is going to go… to a protest… where more than one police officer will be present - especially considering so many reports of arrest from OWS?

and black women - who we blame so much on… do you really think a woman who has a family (with AND without a father in the home) and is barely able to put food on the table is going to take away from a job (and with unemployment in the black community being well over 15%, aint none of us leaving work for SHIT) and go… to a protest? where it’s a bunch of white people chanting in an off key rhythm and/or calling themselves sluts and whores? do you really?

come on. quit. please stop. just… ugh. just stop. this “lack of PoC at protests” thing is rooted in REAL and very… very valid concerns and situations. the longer ppl ask simplistic questions like “oh you think there’s too many white people, well why don’t more PoC just get up and join?”, the longer we enable people to ignore our real life situations.

this leads to reports of Occupy meetings where they’ve said “we need to get the people of color off the couch and out to OUR meetings” - first, fuck your meetings, sir. second - who said we were on a couch? this leads to more blaming, more finger pointing, more onus on PoC, who have some real problems that aren’t being addressed by leadership, to show up - and do what? be unwelcome?

i don’t know where you’ve been, but you don’t just saunter into a meeting and demand to be in leadership because your particular group isn’t represented. and so, in these groups where 10 or 15 VERY PRIVILEGED (to get away from work, to not have to worry about bills, to know their jobs will be there when they get home, etc…) white people got together and each of them invited 2 of their closest buddies/frans/pals/allies/whatever, it’s a GIVEN that only a few would be PoC. and i don’t know, again, where you’ve been, but as a black person? i don’t just saunter into anywhere where there’s 1,000 white folks and one lonely brother in some steve urkel glasses and a big beard asking me to join him at the park.

it’s much… much more complex than you’ve given it credit for with your questions. it’s almost disrespectful - not your questions so much, but the idea that PoC are somehow too lazy to join in and fight. shit. we fight every day just to survive.

* claps and sways*

// Open Letter to Slutwalk//

karnythia:

notforyoutobreak:

blackamazon:

Dear Slutwalk and all of it’s supporters,

   Good luck I mean that ,with whatever you intend to do.  However with Shira Tennant now just LYING in print , it is obvious we can not continue to hold a dialogue about this..  It’s not just a disagreement. It’s not minor. It’s resource and class violence that sadly is often the outcome of these “ movements”. Things are being made up , in hopes of “ strengthening your movement” . I am a woman and I am all to familiar with be called a N*gg*r and the only thing I have learned form it is fear.

An apology actually hasn’t been made.  “ We’re sorry that sign made it into union square” isn’t an apology. We’re sorry that we created an atmosphere that any one thought that was okay is an apology. It is disheartening and quite honestly disrespectful to pretend you have no idea what critiques you are responding ESPECIALLY on tumblr where they are linked at the bottom of your page. It is not an opportunity to show her it is unacceptable , WHEN YOU WILL NOT SAY THOSE WORDS TO HER. When you allow the behavior that has gone on in your name to continue without public response in the forums it has happened.

At no part of your “ apology” have you stated, that what women have done in your name, the slander and disrespect of black women is wrong. At no point have you intervened to say that whatever we stand for , we also stand for women being allowed to express themselves as individuals, without fear of reprisals not limited to insults, appropriation, and lying. But the women you choose continually to ignore and allow to be disrespected are not part of big name organizations, so it seems by your behavior they are expendable.

I am truly glad for you that it is healing “ work” . I am truly please for you that this is something you can get over. But for me a woman who has BEEN assaulted with that word hung over me, it is not that easy. It is triggering, it is the skin I am in when I am demeaned. It is the word yelled at women in my family, and my ancestry when they are raped , and instead of treating it with that gravity, it is being treated as a PR flub.

For all your talk not once have you acknowledged that the people who have challenged you are feeling real pain. You have yet to extend the solidarity of that respect , allowing comment upon comment and word upon word to cast these women,  which as you should know sadly ARE survivors of the sexual trauma you claim to be against , be portrayed as do nothings, villains,  and whatever spewed forth from the mouths of this group you love so much.

From the inception of Slutwalk women of ALL backgrounds have expressed fear at the high handed , unexamined way this has been conducted, fearing that the work put forth would end up alienating and divisive. We hoped it would be merely structural , instead these women , black women especially were treated over and over again, by that sign, and by the cruel and unkind “discussion” that followed to the visceral nature of those failures.

Now the only thing you have to offer is the hope that we will put ourselves into  hostile unwelcoming situations where we have been guaranteed no comfort, support, or basic respect, to do the work you have so obviously avoided doing and continue to avoid. With no assurance or parity, clarity , or reciprocity. So you may grow and we may hurt for your growth.

As a survivor and speaking with many of the survivors that word has jarred and cut so deeply, we require a movement of vision and love. That moves beyond reactionary measures, and proactively envisions, places of care, support and growth for us ALL. When someone can NOT or WILL NOT extend a very simple apology for that most hurtful of phrases, they assure me that their space is NOT the space , I can see that happening.

Thankfully there is more than one way to work towards reproductive justice and there are many places where many of the voices you still seek to drown out and erase are doing that work. 

May we get to that goal where ALL women feel safe and supported and free in their choices to maintain the safety of their bodies, minds and spirits. You have made it obvious that your space does not and truly does not seek to include me and those like me but I hope it still works for you.

Bolded emphasis made by me. 

I’ve been seeing posts about this all week (haven’t been really participating in too much discussion though).  I recall seeing one where some white women, who were still denying the racism happening in slutwalk, said that black women just don’t know what it’s like to be a survivor of sexual assault, or they never speak about it or work against it.  Which is a load of bullshit, and it’s just more exclusion.  Exclusion done in one of the most hurtful ways.  White feminists, if your response to criticism of racism is to erase and minimize black women’s experiences and efforts (which you probably don’t know squat about), then no, I won’t waste my time with you.  Neither should any other WoC.

Some similar things have been thrown at me by white feminists I dared to criticize when I finally got a clue and sensed something was messed up with white feminism.  If black women talk about race and their experiences with their oppression (where white women benefit), or if they dare point out that white feminists’ racism, then they’re often turned anti-feminist in white women’s eyes.  And that gives white women an excuse to exclude, demean, and erase, trying to just wear out black women so that they will submit themselves to a hostile environment where white women benefit from their pain.  If that’s not white supremacy and abuse, I don’t know what is.

Reasons why I don’t call myself a feminist anymore….

Bolding mine. I can’t fuck with the kind of people who say this dumb shit & then want to bleat about sisterhood & solidarity. Mammy issues make my slapping hand itch.

Reblogged for bolding emphasis. I have literally dropped my follow list and my friends list by about 20 people for that .

// [TW: Racism] A friend just showed me this//

karnythia:

false-catalyst:

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

iaccidentallythepatriarchy:

WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK

…holy misrepresentation of shit and erasure of black women.

FUCK YOU RADICAL FEMINIST FUCKBAGS

Alright. I am done with this movement. I slowly have been separating myself from self-identifying as a feminist but now I’m really done here. 

I should be surprised shouldn’t I? Or something. I seem to have gone numb to racism from feminists. Welp, guess it had to happen eventually.

(Source: radicalfeministcrafts.wordpress.com)

// Sometimes I just want to cry//

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

soydulcedeleche:

strugglingtobeheard:

dumbthingswhitepplsay:

clint-tastic:

I want to collapse on the floor, and bawl my eyes out. 

I think a lot of POC’s can relate with me on this. Which is why things like KBURD, and the memes SOS makes are created. 

Because man, if we didn’t find a way to laugh at how fucked up everything is we would go insane. 

word

For real. And if triggered is a physiological reaction to some real oppressive shit, these people just don’t get how much your own physical body goes into disarray having to deal with the bullshit. My heart palpitates and flutters lots and I don’t get anxiety attacks anymore but motherfuckers push it to the limit every day, even when I’m not trying to get a heart attack. Say this shit. And we won’t stop. 

yeah. i get lightheaded, nauseous and my heart races—eventually i just feel discombobulated. def have physical reactions to this shit.

but wtf do they care?

ugh this same shit just happened to me this morning.

i used to cut. When it’s real bad I just did my nails till i see blood

liquornspice:

Suzy X. isn’t real: A Response to Peech: on speaking for myself, and only myself, in regards to Slutwalk NYC

so-treu:

peecharrific:

suzyxisntreal:

Dear Peech— and all those affected by my angry comments—

I have decided to respond to your letter, because I think you brought up some pretty strong arguments. Instead of berating me by telling me that I sat there and watched it happen, and that I can fuck off, or that I’m “lapping up white…

disclosure: suzy’s response is lengthy, as was my email.

suzy. this is not an apology. this is the exact same thing i was talking about in my email (and the CC type post here on tumblr). this is a bag of excuses. “i’m sick” “i was upset” “i was angry” “but i felt erased” “i was thinking about my friends” “but” “but” “but” “but” “but” “but”.

i didn’t ask for any of that and, although i hope you feel better, it’s not the point of this discussion. thank you for the information about the 3 black presenters. (could not find a link to any others). 

this also comes on the heels of finding out slutwalkNYC’s facebook page moderators simply deleted the photo with no word as to why it was done - and as of yet, we haven’t gotten a flat out apology from any of you.

again, i [personally] would like to see the same fire and and vigor you all have used on erasing black women’s VALID complaints re SWNYC used on a genuine apology without rhetoric, justification, blaming, shaming, excuses, pandering, or apologizing away the obvious racism we’ve witness over and again.

and for those who would say, “it’s just a sign. it’s just one person.” i’d direct you to SWNYC’s facebook page where many, many white women and men are saying racist statements, the slur in question repeatedly, and attacking black and other PoC ppl for daring to talk about their dislike of the original sign (and the mindset that goes with it).

it’s not just the sign. it wasn’t just one person. and slutwalk still hasn’t apologized.

co-sign peecharrific. though at this point i dont care what suzy x or slutwalk nyc does. they’ve made it abundantly clear they they have no regard for black women’s safety or lives, and defending their racist actions is more important than remedying they hurt they’ve caused. they can ALL go hang, since that’s what they’ve told us to do.

(Source: suzy-x)

zuky:

karnythia:

CALL OUT TO PEOPLE OF COLOR from the #OWS POC Working Group

pococcupywallstreet:

To those who want to support the Occupation of Wall Street, who want to struggle for a more just and equitable society, but who feel excluded from the campaign, this is a message for you.

To those who do not feel as though their voices are being heard, who have felt unable or uncomfortable participating in the campaign, or who feel as though they have been silenced, this is a message for you.

To those who haven’t thought about #OccupyWallStreet but know that radical social change is needed, and to those who have thought about joining the protest but do not know where or how to begin, this is a message for you.

You are not alone.  The individuals who make up the People of Color Working Group have come together because we share precisely these feelings and believe that the opportunity for consciousness-raising presented by #OccupyWallStreet is one that cannot be missed.  It is time to push for the expansion and diversification of #OccupyWallStreet.  If this is truly to be a movement of the 99%, it will need the rest of the city and the rest of the country.

Let’s be real.  The economic crisis did not begin with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008. Indeed, people of color and poor people have been in a state of crisis since the founding of this country, and for indigenous communities, since before the founding of the nation.  We have long known that capitalism serves only the interests of a tiny, mostly white, minority.

Black and brown folks have long known that whenever economic troubles ‘necessitate’ austerity measures and the people are asked to tighten their belts, we are the first to lose our jobs, our children’s schools are the first to lose funding, and our bodies are the first to be brutalized and caged. Only we can speak this truth to power.  We must not miss the chance to put the needs of people of color—upon whose backs this country was built—at the forefront of this struggle.

The People of Color Working Group was formed to build a racially conscious and inclusive movement.  We are reaching out to communities of color, including immigrant, undocumented, and low-wage workers, prisoners, LGTBQ people of color, marginalized religious communities such as Muslims, and indigenous peoples, for whom this occupation ironically comes on top of another one and therefore must be decolonized.  We know that many individuals have responsibilities that do not allow them to participate in the occupation and that the heavy police presence at Liberty Park undoubtedly deters many.  We know because we are some of these individuals.  But this movement is not confined to Liberty Park: with your help, the movement will be made accessible to all.

If it is not made so, it will not succeed.  By ignoring the dynamics of power and privilege, this monumental social movement risks replicating the very structures of injustice it seeks to eliminate.  And so we are actively working to unite the diverse voices of all communities, in order to understand exactly what is at stake, and to demand that a movement to end economic injustice must have at its core an honest struggle to end racism.

The People of Color working group is not meant to divide, but to unite, all peoples. Our hope is that we, the 99%, can move forward together, with a critical understanding of how the greed, corruption, and inequality inherent to capitalism threatens the lives of all peoples and the Earth.

The People of Color working group was launched on October 1, 2011. We can be reached by email at unified.ows@gmail.com. We can also be found online at pococcupywallstreet.tumblr.com We meet Sundays @ 3 PM and Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM under the large red structure in Liberty Square.

Unions plus a seemingly-got-their-shit-together POC Working Group getting involved? Now things are getting interesting…

karnythia:

CALL OUT TO PEOPLE OF COLOR from the #OWS POC Working Group

pococcupywallstreet:

To those who want to support the Occupation of Wall Street, who want to struggle for a more just and equitable society, but who feel excluded from the campaign, this is a message for you.

To those who do not feel as though their voices are being heard, who have felt unable or uncomfortable participating in the campaign, or who feel as though they have been silenced, this is a message for you.

To those who haven’t thought about #OccupyWallStreet but know that radical social change is needed, and to those who have thought about joining the protest but do not know where or how to begin, this is a message for you.

You are not alone.  The individuals who make up the People of Color Working Group have come together because we share precisely these feelings and believe that the opportunity for consciousness-raising presented by #OccupyWallStreet is one that cannot be missed.  It is time to push for the expansion and diversification of #OccupyWallStreet.  If this is truly to be a movement of the 99%, it will need the rest of the city and the rest of the country.

Let’s be real.  The economic crisis did not begin with the collapse of the Lehman Brothers in 2008. Indeed, people of color and poor people have been in a state of crisis since the founding of this country, and for indigenous communities, since before the founding of the nation.  We have long known that capitalism serves only the interests of a tiny, mostly white, minority.

Black and brown folks have long known that whenever economic troubles ‘necessitate’ austerity measures and the people are asked to tighten their belts, we are the first to lose our jobs, our children’s schools are the first to lose funding, and our bodies are the first to be brutalized and caged. Only we can speak this truth to power.  We must not miss the chance to put the needs of people of color—upon whose backs this country was built—at the forefront of this struggle.

The People of Color Working Group was formed to build a racially conscious and inclusive movement.  We are reaching out to communities of color, including immigrant, undocumented, and low-wage workers, prisoners, LGTBQ people of color, marginalized religious communities such as Muslims, and indigenous peoples, for whom this occupation ironically comes on top of another one and therefore must be decolonized.  We know that many individuals have responsibilities that do not allow them to participate in the occupation and that the heavy police presence at Liberty Park undoubtedly deters many.  We know because we are some of these individuals.  But this movement is not confined to Liberty Park: with your help, the movement will be made accessible to all.

If it is not made so, it will not succeed.  By ignoring the dynamics of power and privilege, this monumental social movement risks replicating the very structures of injustice it seeks to eliminate.  And so we are actively working to unite the diverse voices of all communities, in order to understand exactly what is at stake, and to demand that a movement to end economic injustice must have at its core an honest struggle to end racism.

The People of Color working group is not meant to divide, but to unite, all peoples. Our hope is that we, the 99%, can move forward together, with a critical understanding of how the greed, corruption, and inequality inherent to capitalism threatens the lives of all peoples and the Earth.

The People of Color working group was launched on October 1, 2011. We can be reached by email at unified.ows@gmail.com. We can also be found online at pococcupywallstreet.tumblr.com We meet Sundays @ 3 PM and Wednesdays @ 6:30 PM under the large red structure in Liberty Square.

(via grrspit)