Ally failitudes and *sadness*

First, failitudes:

Being an ally is tough work. Not "omg woe is meeee" tough but "augh I fucked up, let me try that again" tough. The difference is the former, I think, is more self-serving, and the latter is an admittance of need-to-do-better-ness, not only because you feel you have to, but because you WANT to.

Over Twitter last night I talked about a song Danz had sent me from a trans performer named Adhamh Roland. Danz said he was a trans woman, and I gleefully went about saying "she" until I stumbled upon his Myspace and realized I should be using male pronouns. Oops! I changed, but kept stumbling because...well he looks and sounds female, and in my binary mind = girl = she regardless of every source referring to him as a "he". Oops again!

While talking about the artist at some point my brain clicked in with "auuuug this is harrrrd~ *flailflail*" in a sort of self defeating manner. I didn't totally give up though.

You see, also, in my journey on becoming a better ally and maybe a better human being in the proecess, I've been trying to figure out how to tackle trans issues. I write up blog posts in my sleep (no shit) and dismiss them like little mental drafts because they're never quite right. Because I've been so focused on the negative aspects of life--which is driving me nuts--all I wanted to talk about was transphobia.

The thing about transphobia is, I think of all the isms and phobias, it actually confuses me most of all. Gays & lesbians can be transphobic and I've seen it and just thought "Eh?" Then those normal cisgendered hetero folks can be transphobic as well--even gleefully so. And it's so strange to me when anyone is derided and abused just for living their lives, even with the groups you'd think they would belong with, like the gay & lesbian community. But that's also the same community that blamed blacks for prop 8 and has apparently decided that bisexuals of any type don't exist so I should take that back...no I'm not bitter at all.

Pretty sure last year I talked about the Remembering Our Dead project and I'm still astounded at how many trans women and trans men are murdered each year. That's part of the reason I'm so anxious about the Angie Zapata trial (note: I'm too stupid right now to figure out the light a candle button so don't think I just forgot about it or something, working on it). I want to see a court charge this as a hate crime and put a foot down and say this is MURDER and it's a HATEFUL murder. You killed this woman because she was different and you deserve to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

But who knows how that will turn out...it seems our country is still having a hard trouble accepting "differences"--I'm looking at you, entire country, even Hawaii and Alaska--and I'm feeling rather moot instead of optimistic. Being an ally is tough work...when there's not even any hope in you.

If I may transition to SADNESS, occasionally I'll bump into people I don't really want to be ally'd with. No, not the groups I'm ally'ing for, but other allies. Let's talk about my fucking Am Lit II professor yet again.

See, prof has declared himself a "bleeding heart liberal" in front of the class...with no irony, and even has the nice pink triangle on his office door, which I GUESS makes him a friend to gays. This man is no friend of mine though and I'd rather he not be.

I know, we can't all be enlightened. But I really doubt your "liberal" credentials when you can refer to a story involving Zora Neale Hurston in which she allegedly molested a "retarded" child and then call Zelda Fitzgerald "insane" and "crazy".

SADNESS.

Even more SADNESS is the failure of the class--including myself--to call him out on this...stupid-speak. I felt like less of an ally and more of an apathetic student, which I am, but I picked the wrong time to just lose all empathy (and feeling in my pimp-hand).

Being an ally is tough work and never-ending, sometimes tiring, sometimes gratifying, sometimes amazing, sometimes AMAZING, sometimes NYARLATHOTEP BE PRAISED. And I hope I can continue...

Let's adopt the children...I guess

So, I've been on a roll it seems with kids lately because the world's been on a roll with them. I told you to stop fucking with the kids but you aren't listenniiinnng~

Let's take it from the bottom with Madonna's continuing adoption saga. I'm so very annoyed.

I don't know when adopting the poor children from Africa became a fad. I don't care. I've been tired of Ye Mighty White and Privileged Kiplings feeling so entitled to go snatch up African children and bring them to the states. I'm sure that while their rich & famous parents are busy erasing any memories of their home & culture they're being provided with the best schools, best education, best life they can have in the glorious United States. And these young black children, when they get older, will be treated just like every minority in the US, with dignity, respec--*snorfle*

Anyway, so you've heard this. Madonna wants to adopt a child named Mercy, Madonna is denied, Madonna freaks out at being denied something for once and goes on a campaign to adopt this child. The problem is, according to Malawi law Madonna can't adopt Mercy because she hasn't lived there for over a year. Madonna don't care none and decides she's going to build a house just so she can adopt her Mercy and whisk her away, away, awaaaay~

...The other problem here is that, uh, Mercy already has a family. I know right, and African child with a family still in tact. The family, quite understandably, doesn't want their child/grandchild to be taken away. Again, fancy that. How dare they stand in the way of Madonna's progress! The other thing is, Madonna already has her token African baby, David, whom hasn't even seen his real father but once since he came to the US and doesn't even know his own language. Niiiice.

I blog about this because I really, really find it outrageous that this woman, this celebrity, feels so ridiculously entitled to go up and adopt her African babies like it's going out of style (and I wish it was) against the family's wishes. Nyarlathotep be freaking praised, is she serious? Kind of like Bob Geldof, she seems to only be interested in Africa on it's knees (wish I remember who said that first).

I used to hate this phrase, you know, back when I too thought Africa was uniformly in the whole, why don't they just adopt American children? Well honestly I'm kind of asking now, why DON'T they just adopt American children, if they want to do something so kind? Why bring them into a unabashedly xenophobic country? Oh the whiteness, it's hurting my eyes! *shields with hands*

Actually, there are some normal folks in America that wouldn't mind seeing American children out of foster homes & orphanages, except the restrictions for those are getting tighter and tighter. There are states *coughfloridaarizonacough* where you can't adopt if you so happen to be not straight. There are states *coughflorida* where you can't adopt if you're single or just unmarried. So many restrictions, so few loopholes, unless you want to adopt an African/Chinese/Indian/ehhh baby from elsewhere in the world, bring them to a country that kind of hates foreigners & colored folks, and why don't they just adopt american and so on and so on and so on and auuuugh.

But I'm not absolving celebrities of any guilt or wrong doing, what the Madonnas and Angelina Jolies are doing is still kinda fucked up *shrug* but what America does is even fucked upper still.

Then I see this article on CNN regarding...oh, whew! its China:

Fewer children up for adoption in China

The Chinese government imposed new regulations in 2007 to limit the number of international applications, putting more restrictions on prospective parents from outside China. The rules basically say you need not apply if you are single, overweight, deformed, taking anti-depressants or poor. China has said the rules are in the best interest of the child.

After leading the world in international adoptions, adoptions in China are slowing down- though it is not clear if there is a link to the new rules. According to the U.S. State Department, Americans adopted 7,906 Chinese children in 2005 - a number that dropped to 3,909 children in 2008.

However, Melody Zhang of Children's Hope International, said it is not that fewer people want to adopt but there are instead simply more Chinese and foreigners who want to adopt and fewer children up for adoption - however, the government does not release data on the numbers of children up for adoption in the country.

"In the past, Chinese people would not consider adopting someone out of the family, but more and more people are educated, and they understand the important part is to raise the child, not necessarily a blood tie," Zhang said.

The Asian giant's growing economy has given more people the means to raise a child, so Chinese parents are less likely to give up their children.

I dunno, I guess you may say that Madonna probably has the right idea, you may say China has the right idea. I've never been quite here or there when it comes to foreign adoptions other than the fact that orphanages typically aren't the nicest places to be (note: extreme understatement ahoy!). I'm just annoyed at the Privileged Ones and their oh-so-entitled-ment. Perhaps there's even a bigger problem at work here...but there always is...

ETSU's great race survey

Blogging from school everyone. Shh, I can't afford to be seen with radicals.

Edit: Fixed formatting. I still think it's stupid.

I just noticed an email from the school...well...just read it:

Mandatory New Federal Ethnicity and Race Information Collection

Changes to federal requirements for collecting ethnicity and race information require ETSU to resurvey all students, faculty, and staff for this information.

Beginning Monday, April 6, 2009, all users (students, faculty, and staff) are required to log in to GoldLink and provide the following information:

1. Ethnic Category



Do you consider yourself to be of Hispanic/Latino/Spanish origin?

· Yes

· No



2. Race Category



Select one or more of the following racial categories to describe yourself.

· White

· Black or African American

· Asian

· American Indian

· Alaskan Native

· Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

Once this information is submitted, users will return to regular GoldLink services and will not be asked for this information again.

Thank you in advance for participating in this required federal survey,

Offices of Human Resources and Enrollment Services

East Tennessee State University



....What?! NO SIR.

That survey is stupid stupid stupid! What the fuck is an "American Indian"? Why do I have to provide info on any Latin@ ancestory? Explain to me the differences between Latino, Hispanic, AND Spanish (LOL)? Why am I black OR african american like I have a choice? Why so few racial categories? Why no European? If I'm Russian am I Asian or White? Why is this information needed?!

After being called a negro by that stupid student census, the government is going to have to come to my dorm room and A) Deliver an apology B) Ask me nicely with cookies and root beer to fill out anything else ever again! I refuse! I am NOT participating in this fuckery!

They don't want your apologies, Burners

You may have heard this story by now, I found it via Stuff White People Do myself but the comments from debunkingwhite make me feel so much better.

You absolutely have to read this story if you've ever cared about anything in the world:

Burners Torched Over Native Party

Some choice quotes:

Caapi said his team's hearts were in the right place and they did not intend to steal Indian culture. "I think everyone here and inside of our community at large know how poorly promoted this event was in its iconography, in its text, in the affiliations and implications. I think perhaps after tonight the intent will be recognized for the good heartedness it was and the absence of anything resembling cultural appropriation."

But for every apology, the group often inserted a foot into its mouth. Some Burners said they'd been trained by shamans to build altars, others sang racist childhood songs, or noted the lack of Native Americans at Burning Man (which occurs on an Indian reservation). Others asked for Indian help with their Burning Man projects, prompting a Hopi woman to go off.

"I'm trying to articulate my feelings as best I can without completely losing it," she said. "What we do is not an artistic expression. And you don't have artistic license to take little pieces here and there and do what you want with it. That's something you people don't understand, probably never will understand.

"Name your little villages whatever you want, but don't ever associate it with Native Americans. Call it the Crystal Ranch or something. Call it the Mars Ranch. If you want to be spiritual — go be a Druid or something."

That's pretty much it. I am not kidding you, I laughed out loud in real life. Sure it's cruel, but goddamn I hate over privileged fake-liberal white folks, especially when they REFUSE TO RECOGNIZE THIS. These Native American groups do not WANT your apology and from all looks of it, they don't care. They don't care about your tears because you didn't care about their anger. Now they're calling you to your face and you're sad? Go the fuck home.

Do you want to know why? Because in the end, you ultimately get it so incredibly wrong:

"Elaine" on Tribe.net writes: "Dude, don't kiss anymore ass! [Visionary Village] did nothing wrong in the first place. This whole thing is blown completely out of context and out of control. The public apologies shouldn't have to be made. Its not like the theme camp was screaming some Michael 'Kramer' Richard shit at the tribe. Sorry this is just ridiculous."

Anquoe says the non-party was a rare example of effective conflict resolution that is unique to the Bay Area, and he commends Caapi for their actions. Those bystanders who claim overreaction should reverse the situation.

"If Indian people put together a fund-raiser advertised to benefit the Catholic Church where we did our version of a Catholic Church ceremony and there wasn't actually a fund-raiser — you know what the reaction to it would be in the white community!?" he asked. "People would take legal actions against us, it would be crazy, it would be far beyond not having a party. As it is, these kids didn't get to have their party and they had to listen to Indian people being angry and that's about right for the injury they caused the Native community."

Caapi maintains that the fund-raiser for the Native American Church was genuine, and will be providing the names and phone numbers of the event's beneficiaries as soon as he can collect them all.

I'm not Native American. Well, not fully anyway, I do have some Native American blood. So I won't act like I speak for Cherokee or Blackfoot, or any repressed minority but myself. But this is the type of shit I think of whenever I see any half assed apology from the majority to a minority group, whether it be from Congress or Mrs Johnson down the street. You don't mean it and not only do you not mean it but you fully continue to BANK your rights to warp culture wherever you go and SEE NOTHING WRONG. You, Oh Privileged One, can't seem to wrap your head around ANGER at being kicked in the gut so many times and for what.

Shit like this is why I don't care or trust.

See, I started out laughing then I just got pissed. I can laugh again though, white kids crying over not being able to appropriate Native American culture? That's my shit.