A False Step

[poliphilo]

I got a savaging on a Feminist forum the other day. It was my own stupid fault. I'm too old to run with that particular crowd. Besides, I didn't study the subject at university and I don't use- or respect- the jargon.

I consider myself a feminist. If feminism means believing in the equality of the sexes, I'm enthusiastically for it. 

But I should have realised that the gnomic, slightly mischievous comments I go in for aren't going to wash on this particular site (with its ginormous rulebook)- and that you can't challenge someone (especially if if you're a white male) in that culture of victimhood without being accused of  "exercising privilege" and "silencing" them. 

A black American woman had accused a white European woman of racism. The white European woman had replied that the black American woman wasn't taking cultural differences into consideration and that her view was "US-centric". At least I think that's what had happened. The mods then intervened to rule that if a black person accuses a white person of racism that is gospel and no comeback is possible. The white person must take her whipping in patience and humility and afterwards kiss the rod.

I said I thought this was unfair- and that US-centrism is a real issue.  Are black American women really so fragile that they need protecting from all disagreement? Isn't it kind of insulting to assume they can't hold their own in debate?

I'll admit I didn't express myself as clearly or fully at the time. I spoke off the cuff. I should have been more careful- not that it would have made much difference if I had.

I thought I'd stir up a bit of controversy. I was wrong. The pack turned on me and tore me to shreds.

I am- among other things- a white, cracker racialist who likes to wave his dick around.

I'm talking about this here because after a while I realised there was no point in trying to explain myself over there. No-one  was interested in debate, only in parading their righteousness and calling me names. When you're in a hole it's foolish to go on digging.

I'll admit I felt a bit sorry for myself at first- but I'm over it now. I took a nice walk round a lake yesterday and had fish and chips in a garden centre and visited with my niece and nephew and that sort of cleared my head. 

Comments

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the culture of entitlement poisoning that has sprung from said victimhood.

I was in Wal-Mart the other day, in the hair products aisle. Nearby were two black women complaining that they could not find a certain hair product in that store or any other. They concluded that the person ordering the stuff had to be white, because of this oversight.

I had to bite my lip to keep from saying something- that was the stupidest, most ignorant- and blatantly racist thing I'd heard in a while. It could be a corporate decision, or there wasn't enough demand for something. The race of the person ordering African American hair-care stuff is totally irrelevant- but that is typical of the nonsense that is perpetrated every day. It's like a parallel universe.

The really awful part is that had the opposite offence occurred- like me blaming a theoretical black person for not ordering Sun In or something, I'd be escorted from the store, and maybe even arrested.

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

I find it hard to get my head round all this.

I've got an instinctive sympathy for the underdog- but when the underdog behaves in a whiney, ungracious, unattractive way, it throws me.

[sunfell.livejournal.com]

Sadly, I've learned to never underestimate the ability of any human being- regardless of race, class, gender, etc- to be a whiny-ass, selfish and self-aggrandizing, entitlement-poisoned, grabby asshat when the opportunity arises. All we can do is to try our best to keep from being That Person.

I have less and less sympathy for so-called 'underdogs'- because 99% of the time, they perpetuate the stereotype with copious amounts of victim-tude. (Think about the Pagans (and certain flavors of Christians) whining about being persecuted- just as one eensy little example...I'll shut up now.)

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

My default political position is a kind of sentimental Christian socialism. I probably got it from reading too many 19th century novels in my teens. I need to toughen up.

Ah yes, the pagans- it's a kind of willed victimhood, isn't it? I'm going to deliberately dress in ways and spout opinions that'll compel you to persecute me- you brutes!