Holy fuck. No way that thing’s street legal.
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And she was like “Don’t I even get a warning?” as if no reasonable driver might have even suspected her truck was a bit damaged…
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Mod Note: We have an “assume good faith” rule here.
That rule doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to believe someone isn’t arguing in good faith (that’s what flags are for), it means that if someone disagrees with you, assume they are reading your post, understand it, and are responding in kind. Don’t assume they just don’t understand, or they just don’t get it, or they can’t read tone. If people are misinterpreting what you are saying, you need to re-evaluate how you are saying it.
This is a topic about the actions of a woman. We happen to have a wonderfully large collection of commenters here who have identified as women. Many of them have chosen to respond here. And many, because our society sucks, have to deal with the fact that because these commenters are intelligent and outspoken, this has resulted in them being treated not as equals, but as “just not understanding”, or “can’t get what’s being said”, or “can’t read tone”, or any number of intentionally or unintentionally misogynistic statements, by not-insignificant numbers of men.
So, likely male reader of this post, whether you mean to or not, don’t just assume people don’t understand. Or, if they don’t, blame your communication skills, not their good-faith attempts to respond. Because by doing so, unintentionally or otherwise, you make this a topic not only about white privilege but also about male privilege as well.
And no, this is not the place to discuss this mod policy. There is a whole thread on misogyny you can peruse for background. Or open your own if you must, or message me directly if you wish. But don’t derail this discussion.
Thank you.
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And yet, she apparently drove around like that for 6 months, a half a year. If that’s not white privilege, I don’t know what is.
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Well I have no idea what this lady’s excuse was, but being poor has been many people’s. But who knows, maybe she is just lazy. AFIW, I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if she isn’t part Native, but maybe not.
Doesn’t excuse the running and even if you can’t afford it, you really need to get the back lights working to be safe.
What does that have to do with anything?
If you don’t know her race, don’t infer it from your assessment of her character, if all you’re saying is that she’s lazy or poor.
White privilege isn’t a blood test, it’s whether a person passes for white in social situations. She could be part-anything, but she’s still getting better treatment than people who don’t pass as white.
Please don’t associate being native with poor and lazy, even casually. It’s an ugly stereotype.
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I’m pretty sure @Mister44 is Native, but I may be wrong
None of what she telegraphed was “poor”, but entitled. If we don’t uproot white supremacy, right now, we’re all fucked, whatever our skin tone. We’re staring down the end of the world. White people are more than happy to destroy the world, if they can retain their privilege. If we don’t end that, we’re collectively fucked.
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That wasn’t my point. I was giving a valid reason why she may not have fixed her truck for 6months. No matter what her race, being poor means you don’t get shit repaired on time or run round with expired tags (I know this from experience.). The lazy reason was just a counter for maybe there was no good reason, not that she was poor AND lazy.
As for as “white passing”, it isn’t a contest. People who sometimes pass for white, some time don’t, such as many Natives, Hispanics, and Jews. “White Privilege” doesn’t always work in Oklahoma because there are cops who treat even thinner blooded Natives poorly, especially when they have Native tags or are from the Nation. She reminds me of my aunts and great aunts and I still have family in Oklahoma. LOTS of distant family.
I’m not excusing her behavior. I’ve known many people with out two nickels who still felt the world owed them something and have a “fuck the police” attitude.
Yes, more often than not, white often describes them.
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I’m not disagreeing with your points on white supremacy. But I feel uncomfortable about labeling that woman’s race for the reasons above… YMMV.
It’s sort of a trope that some people will pull out family lore about having an “indian princess” to justify their actions. Even Elizabeth Warren did that, and her policies and arguments are pretty progressive. It’s a “legend” in my own family, which is probably that some member of the family back in the 19th century was black, which it’s “bad” enough that my father’s side was Irish Catholic (which pisses me off no end).
If the woman were visibly black or native, she’d be dead and we all know it. That’s the way the world works. We all know it, and we all pretend we can’t fix it. If we don’t, we’re all fucked, because we’re not dealing with the real issues that face us as a planet.
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You realize there are Natives on the various Tribal Rolls who are white, black, and brown now, right? I’m well aware of the prevalent family myths which may be complete fiction, or to account for ancestors of another race. But thanks to the destruction of their culture, especially those that started in the East and forced to new locations repeatedly, many of their members now have a plethora of backgrounds. Especially in Oklahoma.
I know light skinned people of all races have it easier than other minorities. That isn’t to say they don’t also suffer discrimination, that’s all.
Again, not defending her actions in the least.
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No, I’m an idiot…
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You are far from an idiot and would never imply otherwise. But I wasn’t bringing up a trope with my earlier point.
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My point was that actual genetic heritage is irrelevant if she appears to be white, and that if she presumes the privileges of whiteness, and she doesn’t end up dead, that says something. the fact that she did not end up dead tells us that her physical appearance telegraphs whiteness.
Race has little to nothing to do with genetic heritage, but instead is about outward appearance and assumptions of the white power structure. The fact that she literally drove away from a cop and is not dead indicates that however she identifies or whatever her genetic make up, she’s understood by our society as white. That identification by our society has real world consequences, however one identifies.
[ETA] This pattern will continue until “race” is no longer considered a demarcation of human value. We don’t live in that world, no matter what people actually say. Actions (such as shooting a person of color at a traffic stop or putting them in overcrowded cages at our borders) belie our supposedly “multi-cultural” rhetoric.
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The view I am coming from is she looks similar to family members and they HAVE been victims of prejudice in the past. Especially those in Oklahoma because ironically even though there are more Natives in the state, there is a lot of prejudice by some people there.
Is it fair to say that people who pass as white in some situations, not pass for white in others?
I completely agree with your point that waaaaay too often people of color are killed or harassed by cops solely due to their color and their cops’ biases. I also agree with your point that despite what people say they aspire too, we have a long journey to a (eta - make that a) “color truly doesn’t matter on worth” society.
She’s not dead and there is no evidence that the officer saw her as a person of color.
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