Read This Week
This is my 20th Read This Week feature! Below are some powerful articles that I’ve read in the past week.
For Women Dealing W/ the Daily Sexual Harassment by @FatFemPinUp is a powerful read. She KNOWS all too well (as do I) the immense stress and burden that is street harassment and sexual harassment. It is tiring, especially for Black women who are demanded even more to accept this aggression, and suffer from it at higher rates. She writes with passion and honesty, and this post may be hard to read for some, so consider this part a trigger warning before clicking on the link.
Everyday, I Start To Hate White People A Little More by mistynelson on Tumblr is a powerful essay. She is a White woman speaking to how having a family who says racist things and being a part of a culture of privilege is impacting her life. However, she doesn’t do this by prioritizing her suffering over people of colour. She went IN! Good read.
Appropriators hate the word “No” by bankuei on Tumblr is POWERFUL and correct. He speaks to the attitude and indignation that cultural appropriators seem to have, as if it is their right to disrespect cultures because they deem it “cool.” He writes: “You can demand to get to wear dreads - you don’t even know about natural hair discrimination in the workplace. You want to be a “Native shaman” - you don’t know jack about the residential schools or the current state of the tribe (or even what tribe) you’re appropriating from.” Speak that truth!
5 Signs Racism Still Rules Politics by David Sirota at Salon is spot on. He writes: “This persistent double standard of racism and White Privilege doesn’t mean all criticism of Obama is rooted in bigotry. It simply means that A) at least some of that criticism is and B) that over the long haul, that double standard distorts our politics in ways that run counter to the American ideals of equal opportunity.”
Stay tuned for next week’s suggestions. To see what books I’ve read this year, check out my Pinterest page. I’ve already hit 52 for the year, though who’s counting? I just read whatever I find interesting, when I have time.
