The problem stems from those who are unable to see privilege because they are from it. Here in Ireland we have the problem of protestants from the north refusing to acknowledge their privilege. This notion of equivocation between all forms of oppression is totally regressive.
There is a difference coming from a middle class background and coming from an upper middle class background and that difference is reified in those paths that are open to you because of your situation.
If you are a colonised people (black?), subjugated by some external force, you will harbour a disposition against it. To say that this disposition represents an antagonistic form unnecessarily is a rejection of the direct experience that people encounter.
Imperialism exists as a form of oppression and we must fight against it. We can't assume that all forms of government or governance are equivalent.
It is only through our self emancipation that we can help to emancipate each other, but if we are being subjugated by a military (or police) force we have to find avenues by which to break this.
In the US fully 1/3 of the black male populace between 18 and 35 is in corrections. This is an internal colonisation. To deal with it will take heroic efforts. People talking about color blindness and guilt politics are part of the problem. The solution is something that engages those who are systematically repressed and oppressed. How that takes place from the broader movement is a question we have yet to solve. However, it is not a question of left moralism. It's a question of real practical reality.
If you feel guilty about your privilege than tough. You don't have a choice. Your skin is a benefit. You don't get to chose your skin, but you benefit or deficit regardless of it. Failure to acknowledge that is not just ignorance, it's racist.
The problem stems from those
The problem stems from those who are unable to see privilege because they are from it. Here in Ireland we have the problem of protestants from the north refusing to acknowledge their privilege. This notion of equivocation between all forms of oppression is totally regressive.
There is a difference coming from a middle class background and coming from an upper middle class background and that difference is reified in those paths that are open to you because of your situation.
If you are a colonised people (black?), subjugated by some external force, you will harbour a disposition against it. To say that this disposition represents an antagonistic form unnecessarily is a rejection of the direct experience that people encounter.
Imperialism exists as a form of oppression and we must fight against it. We can't assume that all forms of government or governance are equivalent.
It is only through our self emancipation that we can help to emancipate each other, but if we are being subjugated by a military (or police) force we have to find avenues by which to break this.
In the US fully 1/3 of the black male populace between 18 and 35 is in corrections. This is an internal colonisation. To deal with it will take heroic efforts. People talking about color blindness and guilt politics are part of the problem. The solution is something that engages those who are systematically repressed and oppressed. How that takes place from the broader movement is a question we have yet to solve. However, it is not a question of left moralism. It's a question of real practical reality.
If you feel guilty about your privilege than tough. You don't have a choice. Your skin is a benefit. You don't get to chose your skin, but you benefit or deficit regardless of it. Failure to acknowledge that is not just ignorance, it's racist.
Rowan Duffy