Digital Immigrant

My tears started at about 3:20pm today.

I was ‘occupying’ the Company Gardens in town with about 10 other ‘occupiers’ when this happened.

I cried because I got shouted down for disagreeing that ‘p*es’ is an agreeable word to use. I had to hear that I have issues and that it’s my shit, not theirs.

This from a bunch of people who are concerned about the state our world is in.

I heard about the protest from a new face at this morning’s church service. And I thought to myself that I should go do my little bit for humanity by occupying the Company Gardens.

And then it happened — I realised that I had landed in Misogynia. 

Every feminist, I’m sure, has heard the arguments of why our concerns are petty: “you’re creating divisions by seeing ‘women issues’ and ‘black issues’ and…” or “we’re going to focus on this big problem and once that’s sorted, then everything else will just fall into place” or “you should just walk away when you feel offended”

How many times have we not heard this? We heard this when we protested against slavery, we heard this when we protested against Apartheid. So seriously, y’all, when are we going to realise that it’s hypocritical to call oneself an activist who uses p*es as an insult? When are we going to realise that,  in general, white man are far more priviledged than black women? And that this affects us all? Here’s a big word — intersectionality. Cause it’s all related. It’s all connected.

And that the isses we have against big, greedy corporations still doesn’t mean there’s only one way to see it; there are many different, nuanced views. 

I’m pretty tired of explaining white male priviledge to white males. And it’s tiring. It’s emotionally draining. I just want to support a movement where I do not feel invisible all the time. Where I don’t hear that my concerns are ‘petty’. Where I can ask someone to please stop calling me ‘love’ or to please stop using p*es as an insult and NOT be forced to listen to justifications of how it’s just the way they talk or how I should perhaps use earplugs if I don’t want to hear offensive things. Yes, someone really suggested that. Surely I get the right to define how people should speak to me?

I blogged about rights some time ago and pondered whether your rights trump mine? I still maintain that freedom of speech comes with responsibilities. Sure, we can, in theory, say anything as long as it doesn’t amount to incitement or hatespeech. But does that really mean that anything’s OK? That sexist, racist, or homophobic speech is OK?  

The Occupiers will do good to make the movement as inclusive as possible. Make it intolerant of racism, sexism, homophobia, and all the other -isms out there. Make it a safe space for women, children and other minorities. Cause then we’re really sticking it to ‘The Man’, you know?