all snark // no substance

Earlier this month, Dr. Christian Head at UCLA’s Medical School decided to sue the university for racial discrimination.  Dr. Head, the only tenured African American professor in his department, reported that he was repeatedly mocked as an “affirmative action hire” and was depicted in a slideshow at a student roast as a gorilla being sodomized by a white man (meant to depict his immediate supervisor.)

UCLA has since released a statement in response to the nationalized publicity.  It says all of the usual stuff—discrimination bad, UCLA good, etc—and also notes that Dr. Head did not go through the “formal grievance and disciplinary procedures.”  (Even though Head raised the issue with higher-uppers… after they blew him off he opted to file this lawsuit instead of going through the Academic Senate.  So in a sense, the school is criticizing the way he chose to respond as a victim of racism.  Cool.)

In honor of this ignoble lawsuit and *facepalm* statement, I thought I’d type up an excerpt from the UCLA Graduate Students Association Underrepresented Student Resource Guide.   This guide was distributed to incoming graduate students who are “underrepresented” on campus or in their departments.   

It attempts to helpfully list resources like local radio stations (except it only lists local radio stations that are conspicuously jazz, hip hop, and in Spanish.  HMMMMMMMM) and “Neighborhoods to check out”  (eg.”Pico Union is regarded as one of the toughest barrios in the city.”  or  how in Highland Park, “tension between the historic pizza places and marisco stands are slowly being negotiated with indy art studios, ethnic galleries, and hip lounges”  “Leimert Park is home to…tasty jerk chicken spots and local jam sessions”  *awkwards*)

I believe this guide embodies UCLA’s failed attitude towards racial discrimination. My favorite part of this pamphlet  (other than the picture of clearly miserable looking students of color on the cover—does UCLA not have any photos of happy smiling PoC students that it can use?)  is the “Dealing with Discrimination” chapter.  

It laughably attempts to educate people who have likely dealt with discrimination their entire frakking lives on how to deal with discrimination at UCLA.  (By encouraging them to doubt their own judgement and reenact hurtful experiences?)

Excerpts and comments as follows:

DEALING WITH DISCRIMINATION

Underrepresented students may experience both overt and subtle forms of discrimination.  There is often the experience of others making generalizations about you.

Well, I’m glad we got that out of the way.  In case underrepresented students didn’t think this would happen to them after coming out of four years of being an underrepresented undergrad.

Some people may assume that because you are an ethnic minority, you are automatically interested in issues of diversity.  You may find that your peers or professors turn to you to get the “Hispanic” or “Native American” or “gay” perspective.  Such requests have their foundation on the generalization that you are an expert in your own culture, simply based upon you being a member of that culture.

“Instead of training our highly-educated, supposedly high-quality and highly intelligent professors on how not to do this basic ass bullshit, we are instead publishing a guide for underrepresented students on how to tolerate being treated in this way.”

 Although this generalization may place you in an uncomfortable position of having to correct others, it is not always based on negative discrimination.

I have no idea what the fucking point of this sentence is.   Of course “positive discrimination” (assuming someone is good at math, articulate at speaking English,  talented athletically, fabulous, a credit to their people, etc. ) happens, too.  While I appreciate that UCLA acknowledges that this scenario is uncomfortable, what is the point of this sentence?  To try to explain that positive discrimination mitigates the impact of fucked up stereotypes and statements?  

On the other hand, there may be some in your department who might devalue diversity.  Because discrimination is so pervasive, it is essential that you prepare yourself to cope with any that you may experience.  Below are some suggestions for you to consider:

1.  Test Reality

Find ways to confirm or test your conclusion that you are facing discrimination directed at you.  Consider what you are noticing and the circumstances leading you to this conclusion.

How incredibly naive and insulting is this first piece of advice?  ”When you feel you have been discriminated against, the first thing you should do is “test reality.”   This is essentially gaslighting.  This is telling someone who just went through a great deal “well, are you sure that actually happened” instead of empathizing with their experience.  Maybe you are just…making it up!  Overreacting!  Not thinking rationally!   What about exploring why the environment may be triggering feelings of being discriminated against for that student?

Ask someone you trust to take an objective look at your analysis.  Is there any other possible interpretation?  If what is happening to you is not because of discrimination, determine what the source is and take steps to resolve the issue.  If it is indeed discrimination, then consider the steps below.

I don’t think UCLA understands that when it comes to interpersonal interactions and issues of discrimination, it is impossible for anyone to be “objective.”  Everyone approaches this issue with their own perspective.  Many people instinctively try and diminish the impact of discrimination as a form of defensive protection.  Who would want to think, for example, that the medical school that purports to be the best in the Western United States, (a) depicted a black faculty member as a gorilla as part of an end-of-the-year celebration (b) ignored his objections and told him he was taking it too “personally.”    I’m sure Dr. Head would feel so much better if he just “tested his reality” and asked UCLA to take an “objective look.”

I think it is helpful to understand where someone who said something mind-numbingly racist/sexist/heterosexist/ableist, etc. is coming from. (“Is there any other possible interpretation?”  Yeah,  UCLA, the other interpretation is that you don’t have to wear a pointy white hood or deliberately intend to do so in order to do something that perpetuates discrimination!)  

I also don’t think UCLA realizes how condescendingly insulting this message is.  It suggests that underrepresented students are incapable of identifying discrimination and must seek consultation in order to be “objective.”  

(It later becomes painfully clear in this pamphlet who exactly UCLA considers to be “trusted” and “objective” when it comes to racism.)

Be Prepared

If you are faced with discrimination, it is helpful to be prepared to deal with possible specific situations before they arise, such as preparing for what to do if you hear a racist remark.  

Oh, okay.  Underrepresented students should prepare in case they are discriminated against.  How would one do this?

The strategy of stress inoculation may be particularly useful.  This strategy suggests several steps.:  preparing for encountering a stressful situation, confronting and coping with the situation, and evaluating your performance afterwards.  Consult with others about what they did, about how they dealt with their feelings, about how they determine the results of their actions.  If you are comfortable with some friends, you may want to practice various strategies of how you yourself might interact with someone who acts in a racist manner.

You are just going to have to get used to racism at UCLA by inoculating yourself through repeat exposure to more racism.  Make sure to take time to prepare for racism to jump out of the bushes at you and also then to Monday morning quarterback how you reacted when it did.  When in doubt, consult.

Because in between coursework, working to cover rent and pay the bills, and encountering discrimination that you should always be prepared to encounter at UCLA, underrepresented students should, in their free time, practice how to get better at working with people who act racist.

Get Social Support

When you experience discrimination, it is critical that you have an opportunity to discuss your reactions and feelings about the situation.  Talk to trusted friends, colleagues, and family can be extremely helpful.  

Agreed.   

While you may feel more comfortable talking to other ethnic minorities, particularly those of your own ethnic background, it is important to recognize that many non-ethnic minorities can empathize with your experience, and provide you with the support you may need.  Such a staff person is there to help students confirm their conclusions and determine possible courses of action.  Sometimes this staff person has been aware of prior similar situations, and can be helpful in suggesting how to deal with your situation.

“While you may feel more comfortable talking to people of color who have experiences of discrimination similar to your own, it is important (but we will not explain why it is important) for you to acknowledge that “non-ethnic minorities” can empathize with your experience.   You do not get to decide who can empathize and who cannot, you must let non-ethnic minorities in.   Furthermore, this helpful non-ethnic person who is a part of the institution where you are a minority will help you confirm whether or not you were discriminated against.”

(What the hell is a “non-ethnic minority”?  Is that a delicate way of saying “white people”?  Or are they saying people who are white but have experienced other intersectional oppression?)

Confront Transgressors

This suggestion can be particularly stressful to you, especially when the transgressor is a person in power over you.  We recognize that not everyone may want to challenge someone in these types of situations.

“…and it would certainly save UCLA time and money if you didn’t.”

 However, if you feel prepared, it can be empowering to confront the person acting in a racist manner.  Practicing with trusted colleagues may be very helpful, so you can learn how to respond in an appropriately assertive manner.  

You may be the only one of your colleagues who is a woman, or a person of color, or gay, or a person with a disability, etc. It may not always be possible to find someone at UCLA who can relate, but you should still practice with them.  Reenacting racism with people who do not treat you in a racist manner will help you get twice as much of your annual dose of racism learn to respond in a way that is “appropriately assertive” to racism.  (I thought this was a handout for all underrepresented students?)   The underlying assumption being that…people of color need to practice how toappropriately respond to racism?

Someone help me out with a .gif to illustrate the epic facepalm that is accompanying this post.

damnlayoffthebleach:

lightspeedsound:

1.  Toph is a member of the Bei Fong family. I hate to belabor the obvious here, but that’s NOT a white name, or a hispanic name. That is a Chinese name. Translation here.

2.  Now on to the good part.  This is Toph’s dad:   

…as you can see, he is obviously Asian.  You get that, right? That is just not a white person. I don’t care how pale his skin is. He’s an aristocratic man in a society that is modeled after ancient China/Japan/Korea.  Of course he’s pale skinned. 

3.  This is Toph’s mom: 

…again. She’s very asian.  VERY, VERY Asian. Do we need to go into how Asian she is? I hope not.

4. WHEN TWO ASIAN PEOPLE HAVE BABIES, THEIR BABIES END UP LOOKING ASIAN.  

5. I know, I know. Toph has light skin and dark hair! She could be white! EXCEPT: 

…she’s really fucking not.

Toph is really Asian.

I hope you understand.

AND THAT BEING SAID: 

THIS. 

IS 

NOT. ACCURATE.

THIS.

IS 

MOTHERFUCKING

RACIST. AS. FUCK. 

…why you might ask?

…because YOU TURNED AN ASIAN GIRL WHITE.

BECAUSE DESPITE OBVIOUS CUES AND HINTS AND FACIAL FEATURES…

…YOU THOUGHT THAT WAS UNIMPORTANT.

…Boom. Racist. 

/thus endeth the lesson for today. 

SoLDN:

Even if American society conditions people from a very young age to be white-centric and the posters excusing those who think Toph is white are dead wrong…in this case I think the OP is a little off and not taking into account styles of anime. I AM SICK of people assuming that Asian people have slanty little eyes and/or dictating what are or are not Asian features. Ultimately, it seems rooted in white-centric stereotypes of what Asians should look like or are otherized as. It gets so close to the argument used to whitewash anime and Avatar.

While I don’t know about all of these pieces of art and whitewashing defenders need to GTFO, some of these drawing styles are how East Asians have been drawing ourselves for decades, not out of a twisted desire to look white, but because we have the right to decide how we are depicted…and the idea that we might have “chinky eyes” never crossed our minds. That was part of what was so refreshing about Avatar: the South Korean studio was encouraged to use it’s own style of depicting Asian characters, including Asian youth, since that was what they were experienced with. Maybe I am off, but I don’t want calling out whitewashing to cross over into defining stereotypical racial features.

More ranting here: http://jedifreac.tumblr.com/post/20336263343/damnlayoffthebleach-mulan-chinese-from-here

pityplease:

reallifedocumentarian:

With previous APIA posts said, I don’t think that you can:

1) say that there isn’t anti-blackness in a lot of our communities or step away from the fact that it needs to be address (and we can’t shy away from it or try to resolve it behind closed doors).

2) compare the experience of all APIA oppression as equivalent to all other POC oppression. We face colorism, colonialism, racism, xenophobia, sexism, fetishization, objectification, exploitation and all sorts of damaging impacts of white supremacy and Eurocentrism. BUT we don’t experience it in the same way or same degree as other POC. Just as there is a variant gauge of experienced oppression within our communities. As a sansei male, my experienced oppression is very different than the experienced oppression of an undocumented APIA woman. We need to honor that the same variant gauge of oppression exists in the broader POC lived experience.

Oh my god, could it be? Someone else acknowledge that there is a racial hierarchy even within the POC community.

Race is socially constructed. Different groups are racialized in different ways and have been throughout history. The primary purpose of this differential racialization is still to benefit the majority group (eg. white supremacy—the CRT definition.) Also see: intersectionality.

bankuei:

cosmopolitan-fascist:

that was the explicit 2nd point bankuei makes and i am not seeing enough people problematize that

now its being reblogged by people like stfuconservatives, who are white, and i really do not appreciate the uncritical way this is playing out. white people like stfu take cues from the poc community, and we should not be sending such a false msg.

signed,

an asian immigrant in deportation proceedings from a country being destroyed by us imperialism (in which americans of color are complicit)

I’m waiting for people to show me at what point I said asians have TOTAL privilege or AREN’T oppressed.  Reading comprehension is useful, try it.

Less doesn’t equal “not at all”.  Just like how Colorism works - some people get oppressed less/more privileges than others.  Doesn’t mean they get full privilege and no oppression, means they sit somewhere else on the hierarchy.

Also consider this: in full solidarity, folks would have hopped the fuck up to say something the moment the Patriot Act went down instead of assuming it was only going to affect “Those other people”.   A LOT of APIA folks and orgs were silent the whole time.  So…

This is how less oppression/some privilege gets folks on the buy in, and eventually it fucks us all.

So do you want to talk about what I said or put words in my mouth?

Asian Americans and Asian American orgs didn’t speak out against the Patriot Act?  The Japanese American Citizens League (JACL), which is the oldest APIA org in the country, filed the response lawsuit with the ACLU in 2003.  I don’t think the APIA community is unaware that the Patriot Act would affect them. Wen Ho Lee and the spate of hate crimes against South Asians after 9/11, being racially profiled at the airport, perpetual foreigner stereotypes, etc.

A number of other Asian American organizations have “hopped the fuck up”, such as petitioning the Justice Department and Congress in solidarity with PoC orgs.  These Asian American groups include the Asian American Justice Center, Asian American Bar Associations, Asian Law Caucus, the Asian Pacific American Legal Center, National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium, National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development, National Federation for Filipino American Associates, the Organization for Chinese Americans, snd South Asian American Leaders of Tomorrow.  

A Chinese American Lawyer, Manlin Chee, was retaliated against and went to jail, essentially for being too vocally outspoken against the Patriot Act.

I get that our community is imperfect.  A substantial amount of sociopolitical and cultural factors influence our ability to organize effectively.  But I also think that since APIA protesting and speaking out is viewed as counter stereotypical by mainstream American culture, when Asian Americans do speak out our voices are often drowned out and forgotten.  Maybe that’s why so many people are quick to dismiss the contributions APIAs made to the Civil Rights Movement, or to countering the Patriot Act, etc.

I also think that exploring issues of intersectionality would be helpful for this conversation. YMMV.

eschergirls:

jedifreac:

taken from my personal blog, May 2011

Shelly Shapiro, the editor at DelRey in charge of Star Wars books, did a Facebook chat today which you can read here: Star Wars Books Facebook Chat with Shelly Shapiro. (racist comments in response to my question redacted.)

I went out on a limb and decided to ask her about diversity in Star WarsExpanded Universe (EU). I guess bringing up lack of diversity in EU made people uncomfortable because this guy named “Darth Severity” got all up in my grill ranting about how Star Wars isn’t the place for your minority agenda, Marissa blah blah high horse. (I wish I had saved the quotes, they have since been deleted.)

It surprises me how when this topic comes up in fandom a certain subset of fans react by trying to suppress conversation, as if bringing Star Wars up to Star Trek levels of diversity is a bad thing. How dare I take the piss out of Star Wars. Star Wars fans never do that!

So I said:

I’m a long time reader of Star Wars books (own over 200+) but I am also greatly disappointed by the lack of diversity in the Star Wars EU. I was particularly disappointed that the “Rip Tide” cover established Jaden Korr as just another young white human male hero(like the primary protagonist in every other era of Star Wars publishing.)

I would like to see more characters of color and women (including women of color) in Star Wars stories. Will DelRey make a commitment to pursue diversity in future publications?

Shaprio’s response:

Diversity: I feel we’ve had quite a bit of diversity, especially when you take into consideration the growing number of prominent characters that aren’t human. Saba Sebatyne, for example: An awesome female Jedi who is barely even humanoid. (I like her a lot!)

I feel so represented.

Read More

First, hi Jedifreac!  I didn’t know you had a tumblr.  (You might remember me from a long time ago.  I’m Ami Angelwings.) 

Secondly, it’s something that bugs me too.  Why are both Revan and Jaden Korr canonically white human males?  Does Star Wars have a lack of white human male heroes or something?  I mentioned Jaden Korr in a previous post about femShep, that, like people who see femShep as their headcanon Shep, Jaden Korr is a woman to me in headcanon.  (Interesting that Jennifer Hale does both voices too.  She really adds so much to characters that they never feel like just a gender swap add-on, but THE character. :) )

Another thing that bugs me is that the 3 Jaden Korr head choices for human women are just different hair colors, while there’s one dark skinned choice for human men.

And no publisher person, aliens aren’t racial diversity.

Ami!!!!  Are you the one behind Escher Girls?  That’s fantastic!  I’m mostly trying to run the Racebending.com tumblr these days but I couldn’t resist making my own tumblr, too.  It’s good to see you…TBH reading your blog posts really helped to jump start my activism.  A lot of what you wrote really made me think…critically…and helped me develop into the kind of outspoken person I am today!  Thank you for that!