Walking while black, in Jamaica vs. the US

[TobinL]

@Melizmatic

*Anyone from the mainland is a Yank to native born islanders

Same goes for the Canadians… and it really isn’t a term of endearment.

[Melizmatic]

The US accent (ANY of them) and pronunciation is referred to as “yankin’.” Being from a northern state, it didn’t bother me any, but it was often fun to watch ‘good ol’ southern boys’ lose their shit over it.

[WasitabatisaW]

@anon47741163

Are you trying to make a point

Not really, I suppose. Certainly not the one that you conjured for me. I had a friend who nearly died from a beating in Jamaica because he was perceived to be gay, and this reminded me of it.

[anon47741163]

This author did not seem to be painting Jamaica as some kind of utopian wellspring of social acceptance. And when I’ve been in queer-friendly spaces, I’ve heard all kinds of misogynist bigotry spewed, from those I would have thought would know better.

It feels important to me, to approach these kinds of issues with a, “yes, and…” attitude rather than a “yes, but”. Gains by one marginalized group can’t be seen to eat into gains by another such group-what’s needed is for the pie to get bigger. And in an attention economy, it can.

The intersectionality I think has the toughest time of it, are black lesbian women. They’re getting it from every direction.

[the_borderer]

@anon47741163

The intersectionality I think has the toughest time of it, are black lesbian women. They’re getting it from every direction.

Black trans women get it tougher than most other people too, for the same reason. I’m not going to bother deciding who gets it worst though, as both experience treatment that is well over the line of unnacceptable.

[anon47741163]

Yup. And the implication behind so many of these comparisons seems to be, "don’t rock the boat, you’ve still got it better than (insert out-group here). It’s the politics of a prison camp.

[Brainspore]

@Medievalist

even though Philadelphia was a very racist and medium violent city at that time, there were very few places a white man wasn’t at least as safe as anyone else.

That’s been my observation too. Privileged white people get freaked out walking in neighborhoods filled with poverty and gang violence because they’re terrified of momentarily facing the same risks that the people who live there face every day.

If you’re a white man in America (or most any other country really) and feel compelled to complain about the race/gender card you’ve been dealt—just don’t.