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permaculture - [permaculture] racism 101 for white american permies

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  • From: "rafter@liberationecology.org" <rafter@liberationecology.org>
  • To: permaculture@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [permaculture] racism 101 for white american permies
  • Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:39:46 -0600

Thanks to Ben for calling that one.

Briefly:

Y'all know how there is a cutting edge, a sort of global best- practices conversation, about ecological design? And we are all pretty excited about it, and how it's called permaculture? And how it's not homogenous at all, but how even with all the differences of opinion that run though it, it's still identifiable and coherent and more-or-less the best thing going in terms of ecological design?

Well, that sort of conversation exists for issues besides ecological design. There is also, for example, a conversation just like that, but about racial and ethnic relationships. This one is called anti- racism (though you might hear it called critical race theory, in certain circles, or some other variant.)

In this conversation, racism is defined as "power plus prejudice." So it's not just about your attitudes, conscious or not, or even your actions - it's also defined by social context of those attitudes and actions.

If this seems like an exciting, or confusing, or infuriating, idea, a great entry point to understand it better is the short, conversational, funny book by Tim Wise called "White Like Me."

So, just a few short principles that come out of the anti-racism conversation:

* No one is "colorblind," even if that were an appropriate response to a racially divided caste society - which it ain't.
* Unconscious prejudice affects our experience of the world, all of us - and it is measurable:
see for yourself at https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/
* Explaining one's racially charged remarks as reason, logic, or common sense doesn't make you not racist.
* Having non-white genes in your heritage doesn't make you not racist - particularly if you are "read" as white in your public life.
* Having non-white friends *definitely* doesn't make you not racist.
* If you think you are racist, you're almost certainly right.
* If you are white, and think you aren't racist, you are almost certainly wrong.
* None of these things make white people not racist, or disprove the existence of white supremacy:
* Listening to music by non-white artists
* Getting pulled over by a non-white cop
* Making white-people jokes
* Seeking out spiritual guidance from non-white people
* Claiming "logical self-interest" or variations on that theme
* Being progressive, bohemian, radical, green, anti-authoritarian,
etc.
* Being poor, being a woman, being LGBTQ, being disabled, etc.

Permaculture, as a movement, as a community that is trying hard to help save this big complex world we live in, will grow more effective and more powerful as we learn to learn from this other best-practices community.

rafter t. sass
The Liberation Ecology Project
liberationecology.org
518-567-7407
skype: raughter







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