I used to teach in Northern Minnesota on a campus that heavily served Ojibwe students. Probably the nicest students I ever had. Possibly too nice; this TSA agent deserves quite a lot of trouble.
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But you are saying that you’re in a better position than she is to decide if it’s racist or not. SHE experienced it as racist. I’d suggest that maybe she knows what she’s talking about in a way that you don’t, as you are not her and have not had her life experiences.
This is not a lynching. We’re just actually listening to the person who knows what happened to them and how it made them feel, and how they experience their life as a person who lives in a society that regularly dehumanizes them.
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Again, I’m not dismissing how Tara Houska feels about the incident. From the article she even stated that she would rather seek better education for the Agent. (In my opinion a TSA agent just shouldn’t be making jokes if the expectation is that travelers shouldn’t either.)
The TSA Agent now has a fork in the road which may have been previously clouded by ignorance. Now they either understand what their actions mean and they grow or they don’t and they can go fuck themselves.
I completely agree with your initial post on this thread:
WTF is wrong with people… DON’T DO THIS TO YOUR FELLOW HUMAN BEINGS, ASSHOLES… HOW FUCKING HARD IS THAT?
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Yup.
But is that caused by white people being ignorant about Native issues, or is it caused by a society structured so that Native people lack the economic and political power to effectively respond to such abuses?
As always:
Racism = Prejudice + Power. Addressing the prejudice without addressing the power is unlikely to succeed; power will just recreate prejudice. Correcting the power differential renders the prejudice irrelevant.
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Spoiler alert:
It isn’t a bomb.
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Whether you know it or not, you still are dismissing her, because you’re actively denying how she experienced this. The intent of the agent was irrelevant, as Houska experienced it as racism. Whether or not the agent meant it in those terms is immaterial.
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Here in Britain there’s a name for people like that: little Hitlers.
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I think another factor (and it’s come up a bit in this thread) is that a person can commit a racist act based on their “subconscious” racism/prejudice, even if they are not directly aware that this is what motivated their words and/or actions in a particular circumstance.
I seriously doubt this TSA person would have grabbed the pony tails of a 60-year-old white lady. I just don’t see it. That TSA agent would not have a job, because most people are not going to try to turn this into a teaching moment – they’re going to turn it into a lawsuit, or at least try to get the agent fired.
But “something” made the agent think that “just having some fun” in this way was appropriate, in this particular circumstance. That something is… racism. Obviously.
Societal racism has a way of seeping into many things. It can absolutely allow for people of one subjugated minority group to commit acts that are fundamentally racist to other members of their own minority group. Racism is like a nasty virus in this way, it has a way of infecting and contaminating through many vectors. IMHO.
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Yup.
But it is also possible to commit a racist act without any prejudice at all, conscious or subconscious.
For example: a theoretical prejudice-free cop who works for a police force that systematically over- and/or under-polices [1] Native communities is acting to enforce the consequences of a structurally racist society. No matter what their personal psychological perspective on the matter.
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[1] They can (and do) exist simultaneously. Crimes with victims of colour are underpoliced, “crimes” with suspects of colour are overpoliced.
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It’s interesting which magical thinking is ok to call out and which must be defended with indignation. I have no problem with someone thinking their hair or underwear has spiritual powers. But, I also have no problem with noting it for what it is.
Should I assume you’ve never mocked Mormons or JW’s or Oprah or people who pay for bottled water?
The fact stands. What happened was horrible and she was assaulted.
Absolutely, and well-articulated.
Now, I tend to refer to these situations as “people participating in, and by extension propagating, a racist system” vs. “being racist.” I actually think this is a useful distinction, and can in some situations make people more open to how they do participate in a racist system, than if you call them “racist” directly.
I mean, we (speaking for Americans here, which is what I am) live in a racist system (and misogynist, and homophobic, etc. etc.) and many of our foundational institutions (legal, banking, education, you name it) have systemic racism (and the other isms) baked into them. Most of us participate in these systems, because we don’t have much of a choice, and by extension, often serve to propagate these isms. It doesn’t mean we are all racist (etc.) – but it means we need to learn (be taught) how to counteract these systems as best we can, despite having to participate in them in various ways.
It’s a complex issue, and I think it’s probably been a thing for many thousands (tens of thousands? hundreds of thousands?) of years. My personal more “esoteric” beliefs give me a framework for why this is the case, here on Earth. Not sure if it’s something truly resolvable or not, but I’m a big believer in the value of working towards positive change, even if it’s not guaranteed, or even really possible.
But I digress!
Why is magical thinking a “bad thing” as you seem to imply? Magic is all about thinking and affecting consciousness – is there any kind of magic that doesn’t involve thinking?
I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I just said it was irrelevant to what happened. Like I said in my follow up, if you want to think not vaccinating your kids or sticking needles in a voodoo doll is somehow beneficial, go ahead. But, don’t be offended if someone disagrees with you. And, especially, don’t be selective in your indignation (Not saying you were).
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OK, but maintaining a cultural practice that affects nobody else negatively is definitely categorically different than not vaccinating! 
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Obviously, that’s just one example, but you know that. Cultural practices are not, necessarily magical thinking, either.
This caused such a brief and unanticipated burst of angry surprise in me that it blew an anger hole right through my soul. I’m now just an empty husk with a strong wind of WTF is blowing through my empty insides. The sheer disbelief is preventing me from being angry right now.
Clearly the TSA has a “type” when it comes to the people they hire.
And, weirdly, people capable of that don’t seem to be who the TSA hires…
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Now apply this analysis to the US military.
What colour are most of the people under the bombs? What colour are most of the people in the countries subject to CIA-backed coups and terrorism?
White supremacy isn’t just a local issue; it’s global.
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Should I assume you are a white male who has never experienced racism, sexism, homophobia, etc? I know I am. It is not for us to tell oppressed minorities when they have or have not been discriminated against or offended.
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But they are saying that it’s inappropriate no matter who it’s about. Everyone shouid see it’s an invasion , way before the specifics of who has the braids.
Once ot twice someone has tugged at my braid, and I didn’t know it was going to happen until I felt the tug. So even if there was some purpose, they were treated me as inanimate.
That should be enough for people to not do it, before issues of race kick in. Being native (or black, I remember I think the Oprah Show where black women talked about not wanting their hair touched), shouldn’t be a consideration because someone shouid know it’s an invasion.
I will admit that one time I was at a dance show and someone tugged on my braid, but I knew the person behind me and she was with her nephew. Otherwise I would have turned around and growled, but I figured the five year old had done it and accepted his curiosity.
I would never touch a woman’s hair unless I was interacting with her, most likely if I was flirting with her. I wouldn’t ever just randomly touch a woman’s hair, it’s no different from not randomly touching a woman’s body.
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