We're still conflating intelligence with consciousness I see. And self-awareness. And LIFE. These are actually *four* different properties.

This is colonizer shit, actually. It sets human beings, who possesses -and define- all four, at the very top of an imagined pinnacle, with all other ways to exist defined only by comparison. It limits our ability to think clearly about either concept. This conflation is a huge part of the justification for genocide and oppression (against "lesser" humans), and justification for the exploitation of nature. It has been used to excuse the worst kind of ableism against neurodiverse humans.

Under the guise of science, it is core to the illusion that a hierarchy of life exists at all, instead of a wide array of diverse ways of processing sensory information and selfhood that exist across a spectrum, not just among human minds, but across all kinds of minds, about which we know very, very little. It is based not on evidence, but a mountain of untested (and possibly untestable) assumptions drawn largely by white men, more than a century ago, at the upper tiers of an empire.

I'm not really into arguing over anything today, and I don't have any particular hills to die on. Other than that we think more carefully about what it means to think.

#philosophy #psychology #WhitenessIsACult #DeconstructWhiteness

I have a manifesto to make. I didn't intend to make it, but here we are. ✊🏼

As a "white" Hispanic person, my position in this conversation is...idiosyncratic.

One day, I'm a victim of racism. Then next, I'm directly benefiting from white privilege. It all enough to make you dizzy. It depends on the season—my skin color changes drastically with the sun. It depends on how tired or inebriated I am—the Spanish comes out more. It depends on which of my cultural behaviors are showing. And, of course, it depends on the mood of the white person in front of me.

Living on that ridiculous, flimsy line is why I need to talk about "whiteness," and why the "Allyship 101" take isn't enough.

The construct of "whiteness" is a tool of oppression. We know this. But it's not just a weapon aimed at POC. It's also a poison fed to white people. It has robbed them of their actual culture. It stole their German, Irish, Scottish, or Polish heritage and replaced it with an empty, meaningless abyss whose only defining feature is "not being one of them" and appropriating every new fad coming out of the third world country featured on ChildVision this fiscal quarter.

Why does this matter? Because without culture, you have no pride. And pride isn't just about "feeling good." It's about strength.

We, POC, are able to stand against systemic, violent, and often deadly oppression because we have a strength you may not see, and pride is the backbone of that strength.

💠 Chinese Americans know they built the railroads, and they hold that pride even as people shout at them for speaking their own language on their own property.
💠 African Americans know they are the backbone of American culture and vibrancy, and they hold that pride even as the nation punishes them for it.
💠 Hispanics know we created the foundations for international diplomacy, and we hold that pride even as we're told to farm berries and take out the trash.

We are able to live vibrant lives against this impossible burden because we have a shared pride in who we are.

☝🏼 A Quick Note: Yes, "American" is a culture, and a very complicated one involving rites of passage like homecoming and the prom, annual cultural festivals like the Super Bowl and the Academy Awards, cultural milestones like Black Friday and the Opening Day of Major League Baseball (marking the official end of winter in the U.S.), and even our very own cuisine, including delicacies like Chicken Fried Steak and the Chocolate Chip Cookie. We love guns, rock-n-roll, explosions, and we pride ourselves on our love of competition. We are raised to believe that we can do anything if we only set our minds to it (note: intersectionality may cause experiences to vary). And like any culture, it has its negatives: it's xenophobic and exceptionally cruel to people from out-groups. Many Americans seem to think rights are only theirs, and we behave that way on the world stage. We are an obnoxious people for many reasons. Many reasonable. Some less so, like, dude.... Let us smile from time to time. It feels nice. Go read Dostoevsky or something and be frowny over there.

#AntiRacism #Accountability #DeconstructWhiteness #ReclaimCulture #Whiteness #SocialJustice #Race #Discourse #Manifesto #CulturalErasure #CoConspirator #Solidarity #PrideAsStrength #Hispanic #Latine

[CONTINUED IN REPLY]

I have this 3-hour walking through the streets of Hanoi video on in the background, admiring the variety, color, art, and embedding of nature all around, thinking about how the construct of whiteness keeps us from having fun, human cities.

Whiteness is about seeming as inoffensive as possible. Or said better, about being as inoffensive to *other white people* as possible. While doing much worse than offense in the harms required to enforce such blandness.

Paint the walls beige so it won’t lower your house’s resale value (inoffensive), but withhold your tip to punish your server for slow service (an aggressive act).

Worse if you rent. Good luck painting any color but beige, you’re not getting your deposit back. Enforcement in this case is itself an act of offense, we must protect lest anyone’s eyes be nonconsensually offended with a more interesting color.

#AbuseCulture #deconstruction #DeconstructWhiteness