Kill the DJ
This article makes me glad that i didn't happen to wander into hipster Williamsburg this past weekend that i spent in New York. To be fair, i'm sure that there are also great places and people in that neighborhood as well.
I found that article through this weblog posting, which points out that one of the people (a-holes) quoted in the article happens to be half of the indie rock sister duo Cocorosie (who were recently lambasted by Jessica Hopper for dropping the n-bomb in a song.)
These articles are pretty good, though the hand wringing over postmodernity in the second is a little over wrought, so i shouldn't say too much. I definitely agree that the fear of embracing overt political ideology has really hamstrung the ability of some otherwise lefty people to see the problem of racism (and the ways in which it interacts with class, gender, and other oppressions) in clear terms.
Someone recently told a friend of mine that it irritates him when he sees white people in his predominantly black New York neighborhood. Both of the people involed in this conversation live in predominantly black neighborhoods, both are white. Obviously this comment was intended to be ironic (to some degree) and also to reflect on the racial awareness of the speaker. But this statement marks a retreat into irony in the face of a seemingly insoluble problem (in this case, marginalization of black people by gentrification,) rather than a real (a political) confrontation of that problem.
This is the reason that concerned, aware people shouldn't be allowed to turn from radical politics; they must be made to confront them as perhaps the only real way to change the fundamental terms on which society is (mis)organized.
I found that article through this weblog posting, which points out that one of the people (a-holes) quoted in the article happens to be half of the indie rock sister duo Cocorosie (who were recently lambasted by Jessica Hopper for dropping the n-bomb in a song.)
These articles are pretty good, though the hand wringing over postmodernity in the second is a little over wrought, so i shouldn't say too much. I definitely agree that the fear of embracing overt political ideology has really hamstrung the ability of some otherwise lefty people to see the problem of racism (and the ways in which it interacts with class, gender, and other oppressions) in clear terms.
Someone recently told a friend of mine that it irritates him when he sees white people in his predominantly black New York neighborhood. Both of the people involed in this conversation live in predominantly black neighborhoods, both are white. Obviously this comment was intended to be ironic (to some degree) and also to reflect on the racial awareness of the speaker. But this statement marks a retreat into irony in the face of a seemingly insoluble problem (in this case, marginalization of black people by gentrification,) rather than a real (a political) confrontation of that problem.
This is the reason that concerned, aware people shouldn't be allowed to turn from radical politics; they must be made to confront them as perhaps the only real way to change the fundamental terms on which society is (mis)organized.
posted by Chris at 10:57 AM
3 Comments:
i have a great article on critical race theory (crt) by david stovall that you should read... next time i see jonm, i'll try to remember to give it to him... provides a solid framework for how people should discuss race... mainly in the context of education but the theories are still pretty solid.
do it!
Talking about me behind my back, are you...
I had an interesting debate with someone about whether AsAms being a "model minority" makes that stereotype better than one in the opposite direction about blacks or Latinos. The other person came from a stance of, "Well, if you're going to stereotype, it might as well be a good stereotype!" There is a lot of work to do and a long way to go.
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