From: cortese@skid.ps.uci.edu (Janis Maria Cortese)
Subject: Re: Overthrow "THE MAN" symbolically, was (Who cares)
Newsgroups: alt.pagan
Organization: University of California, Irvine
Date: 25 Jul 92 00:00:45 GMT

In article <12467@inews.intel.com> pharvey@mipos3.intel.com (Paul Harvey) writes:
>In article <eTeFoB1w164w@ailanth.UUCP> 
>ailsa%ailanth.uucp@wang.com (Ailsa N.T. Murphy) writes:
>>so far as i'm concerned, 
>>i think the best tactics would be for all the oppressed groups to get 
>>together, bury their differences (for example homophobia in the black 
>>community and racism in the gay male community) and overthrow the man.  
>>together there's a lot more of us than there are of them.  and ALL of us 
>>who are white need to overthrow whatever traces of the man exist withion  
>>ourselves...
>
>Yeah, I'll go for that, overthrow "THE MAN" in ourselves. All of us are
>oppressor and oppressed in varying degrees, all of us suffer, all of us
>should overthrow "THE MAN" in ourselves. Not cast out, but turn around
>to serve all humankind. Boy, I was stupid, mista bob dobalina, it took
>a while before I could see through the mask. Now, tell me, who is number
>one?

When we work on this, though, we MUST understand that people who belong
to typically oppressed communities are GOING TO BE ANGRY.  We may not
like it, but tough shit; it's there.

We either accept that anger, and are as generous as possible in
listening to it and acknowledging it as valid, or we make the problem
worse.

PEOPLE ARE ANGRY.  When others say things like, "But *I*'m not like
that!" or "You're being racist, too," it comes across as a terrific
brush-off, saying effectively, "So what if you're pissed?  Why won't you
see things MY way?"

The Israelis hate the Palestinians.  Well, they are both losing their
children before their parent are gone.  Whether your kid is killed in a
school bus bomb, or beaten to death by the cops makes no difference.
YOU ARE BOTH ANGRY AS ALL HELL.  Just screaming, "Well, *I* didn't do
it!" sovles NOTHING.  Why the hell can't people just LISTEN when someone
says they're angry and sounds off?  WHere th ehell do you think shit
like "Cop Killer" comes from?  These people are mad as hell, and no one
is listening to them.  No one is acknowledging their pain as valid;
they're just saying, "Oh, if you dislike racism then why are you acting
this way?"  Can't they just be pissed and have us acknowledge that?

I mean, why the hell do people just suddenly start yelling, "*I* didn't
do it!" the minute stuff like ths comes up?  Would it fucking kill you if
you just shut up and listened, and patted someonhe's back when they
hurt?  Would your arms fall off or something?  We love to say, "An it
harm non" and all that garbage, but how many of us really live it?  Even
christians say "Turn the other cheek."  Are you just going to wax
poetic about what a lovely sentiment it is or get off your fat ass and
start living it?

PEOPLE ARE IN PAIN< YOU IDIOTS.  And the sooner we wrap our arms around
them and fucking let them get it off their chests the better.  Men DO
NOT UNDERSTAND the nature of women's oppression, whites do not
understand the nature of black oppression, and straights do not
understand that nature of homophobic oppression.  We can sympathize and
make educated guesses -- I mean, when your life is threatened by other's
problems with their own insecurity, it's pretty much the same all over
-- but we cannot KNOW.  I THINK I can understand homophobic oppression,
but I will take the word of a gay-bashing victim over my own probably
misinformed opinions.  THE MOST RELIABLE DATA COMES FROM THE PEOPLE WHO
LIVE THIS GARBAGE.  IF YOU HAVE OTHER IDEAS, THEY ARE WRONG WRONG WRONG
WRONG.  THE PEOPLE WHO LIVE IT KNOW IT BEST.  It has been around so long
that each oppressed group has in many cases seen that oppression as a
fundamentla part of their identity.  A question for those on the net who
know -- How much of your identity AS A MINORITY (gay/les, black, or
Jewish) seems to you to be wrapped up in the tight sense of community
that comes from being constantly picked on?

I mean, would it make your damned nads fall off to JUST LISTEN??

Janis
 

>Be seeing you!
>


From: Frank.Perricone@f814.n355.z1.therose.pdx.com (Frank Perricone)
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