The Equality Zero-Sum Game Round Whatever

[browngirl]

[More US politics.] I know this is a matter of perspective, but sometimes it seems that conservatives are so good at pulling together while liberals are so good at infighting.

So I've been lying here reading the Internet's reactions to this week's US political news. Having seen it recced a couple times I read the often wise and estimable ursulav's post "Rain On My Parade And I Will Cut You". This essay is the most eloquent expression yet of an attitude I've seen around and really disagree with, that Senator Davis and her colleagues' and supporters' courage in Texas and the victories of overturning DOMA's Section 3 and Prop 8's death are more important than the loss of the Voting Rights Act. (To say nothing of the debacle in Ohio.) [Personal note: It doesn't help that some of the people in the comments are people whom I've seen support feminism and turn around and excuse racism, but that's about my personal reaction, not what I think we should globally do. Back to that.]

As I pointed out in my comment, "considering how the Voting Rights Act being defanged endangers these laudable instances of progress (Senator Davis nearly lost her district due to the gerrymandering that is now legal, and due to it Rep. Tim Huelskamp is likely to gain more like-minded colleagues to support his proposed anti-same-sex-marriage amendment to the US constitution) it seems kind of counterproductive to celebrate those victories by declaring the pointlessness of concern about the VRA. It makes sense to me to be worried about the stability of a new patio built on eroding ground." [The last line is a reference to the essay's central metaphor.]

So I may get cut indeed, or I may get ignored (that happens a lot when one points out intersectionality). But it makes me sad to see a victory getting used as a reason to ignore a defeat, especially one that endangers that very victory.

And it makes me think about the common complaint about liberals that we fight amongst each other. I may well have done that myself by disagreeing publicly with Ms. Vernon: I AM delighted by the decisions against DOMA and Prop 8, and I am awed by and admiring of the Texas Senators' stand, with thousands of women of Texas standing with them. I do think we should celebrate.

But I also think we should not forget or dismiss other struggles. For my part, I can't support one thing if it means I have to betray myself to do it. Many people pleased with these political successes think that the VRA decision doesn't matter because racism is over and/or because even if it isn't the VRA decision will only affect people of color/people in the South/other groups they don't belong to. For one thing, that supposition is not true: issues of voting suppression have popped up all over the country and across class lines and urban/rural lines as well as racial ones (my friend sageness wrote an excellent description of gerrymandering in Texas.). However, even if it were... being a woman of color myself I can't and won't dismiss the VRA decision as unimportant (also, as I pointed out above, it endangers these victories).

So what am I to do, then? Should I keep quiet in the name of liberal unity? Or does it make sense to ask my fellow liberals to remember that even issues that aren't personally important for them are still important? (And I'm reminded here that one of my many reasons for supporting marriage equality is that I want the issue settled like it should have been long ago so that people can't use it as a reason to ignore other issues facing LGBT people, such as the dreadful hatred and danger transgender people face just for existing or the fact that it's not illegal in many states to fire someone for being LGBT. These issues of equality matter beyond our own groups, our own skins.)

Comments

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Is allowing for a day or two of celebration for those who want to celebrate excessive? This doesn't mean people who are working on other issues have any reason to take that day or two off.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

It's absolutely not excessive. What I objected to was not the celebration but the "And that's not as important as this" statement, because in this case I do think the that (the VRA decision, the Ohio bill) are as important as the this (the DOMA and Prop 8 decisions, the showdown in the Texas legislature). Especially because of the implications of the VRA decision for all the rest.

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

how's about cheering the good and decrying the bad, in turn? taking topical turns may yield to more productive conversations than trying to talk about everything at once, even though sometimes it seems super relevant (as with sen davis and her district).

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

That makes total sense. For instance, I just made a post that was all about celebration, highlighting the lovely cartoon I found. I didn't feel the need to stick "and that's why you should shut up about the VRA already" onto it, you know?

[pickledginger.livejournal.com]

I am pretty sure that what Ursula meant to criticize was the folks who basically say, you can't ever be happy about winning a battle until we have win the war, no all wars, no all wars and the war on poverty, oh, and the war on cancer, etc.

Personally, I am celebrating the victories and /m/o/u/r/n/i/n/g/ being really pissed off about.the losses. I do not see one as any obstacle to the.other. (A bit.of a damper, maybe.)

[spinrabbit.livejournal.com]

I don't think she's saying that "Senator Davis and her colleagues' and supporters' courage in Texas and the victories of overturning DOMA's Section 3 and Prop 8's death are more important than the loss of the Voting Rights Act." She's saying that jumping in when and where someone says "Hooray for Sen Davis!" and going "Yeah but what about VRA?" is harshing their squee. She's acknowledging that each of these is a battle, not the war, but wanting to be able to celebrate the battles won. "Tomorrow we will pick up our shovels again. Give us one damn day to cheer."

I really like your post here, don't get me wrong: I just don't see the message you're responding to in the post you linked.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I totally don't agree with those people at all, but if that's what I had read in her post, well, I wouldn't've written this one. I think around when I saw the patio vs hall painting metaphor, with its assignations of respective importance, I had to say something. OTOH, one of the reasons I posted this was to get other perspectives on my thoughts; I would be relieved to be wrong about what the message of her post was meant to be.

Personally, I am celebrating the victories and /m/o/u/r/n/i/n/g/ being really pissed off about.the losses. I do not see one as any obstacle to the.other.

That's why I wrote this -- that's exactly where I am too.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Harshing squee is a good way to phrase it. If I'd gotten that out of her post I would have wholeheartedly agreed, but/and if my post is just in violent agreement with hers, as they say, rather than a rebuttal, I would be very relieved.

*goes to reread*

ETA So I've been thinking about it all afternoon. Who is that 'we'? Am I in it as a bisexual woman, or not in it as a Black person? Having reread her post, I still feel as if... she may have intended to tell naysayers to be quiet, but she succeeded in telling those of us who care about the VRA to shut up.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_samalander/]

A friend of mine, who is a black gay man, said on facebook, "Happy I can get married, but I'd rather vote."

I think the timing is the main issue, that people are so elated that we've finally "cured" the gay rights issue (except for not) that they are letting the bad slip aside. And that's okay for a little while, so long as we come back to it sooner rather than later.

[juliansinger.livejournal.com]

a) I don't think you need to keep quiet in the name of liberal unity

b) I was in part grumpy-pants on Wednesday because of the rest of the news surrounding it, around the country. Sooo I feel ya.

c) I don't actually read ursula's post that way, but, the thing of it is, if you read it that way, that means it was there in the post to read.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

A friend of mine, who is a black gay man, said on facebook, "Happy I can get married, but I'd rather vote."
I hear you, my brother, I hear you.

Yeah, the timing ... I was so Full of Feels on Wednesday it actually caused me physical symptoms. I totally agree with celebration, and with not wanting one's squee to be harshed, but I can't agree with the anti-squee-harshing statement when it goes into "and so that doesn't matter, this does" territory. All of it matters.

[Really, I could just have written I Agree With Your Every Word because I do. :)]

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

a) Thanks. :) b.) Thanks. :D c.) Maybe it's a case of saying one thing so emphatically it slides into a different thing? I dunno. I felt like I should say something because she's so well known and followed and because so many of the commenters were so "you sure showed those sourpusses where to stick it!" jubilant. (Of course, maybe I'm not as good as I'd like at separating my personal take from my global recommendation.)

As Stephen Colbert said:

[rubynye.livejournal.com]

"Is there any way we could turn the gay people and the black people against each other and make them fight in a sort of thunder dome and the winner gets the civil rights? … By the way, after these two decisions, people said that the gay rights is the new civil rights fight of our time. Are gay people the new black people? And if so, can black people get married now? Oh, and can we take away the vote from gay people?"
Stephen Colbert

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

I think you're misreading ursulav's post. She isn't saying that Davis's filibuster and DOMA and Prop 8 being overturned are more important than the VRA; unless I'm misreading her post, what she's saying is that we should be allowed to take a moment to thoroughly enjoy the good stuff that happend, before returning to the fight. I mean, this is what she says:

Tomorrow we will pick up the shovels again.

Give us one damn day to cheer.

THAT said, okay, we've had our day to cheer. You're absolutely right about the VRA being a horrific loss. So let's pick up the shovels.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

You're the severaleth person I trust to say I read her post too critically, and honestly in this case I wouldn't mind being wrong -- it hurt to think that someone as wise and influential as Ms. Vernon was saying we shouldn't care about something I find very important.

ETA: though, I was thinking about this, and... part of my context for reading her post is how dismissive many proponents of women's and LGBT rights are of racism -- those of us caught at the intersections can find us in the uncomfortable situation of being told that one oppression we suffer is worse than another. I have been thinking about, if I were a feminist who saw nothing wrong with racism, if I would feel vindicated by her post.

As Mia McKenzie said:

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

I see you that and raise you this:

"Pride parades this weekend will be more heavily attended by the press than perhaps any in history. What will you do with the world watching? Will you cry tears of joy and laughter over the repeal of DOMA and never utter a word about the smashing of the Voting Rights Act? Or will you do what you have said you would do? Will you make room in your agenda for the rest of us? Those of us who are queer and black, trans* and Chicano, intersex and South Asian, and Two-Spirit? Will you speak up for us, while the cameras roll? Will you speak up for all the people in this country whose rights are being taken away while yours are being increased? Or will you be silent?"

http://blackgirldangerous.org/new-blog/2013/6/27/calling-in-a-queer-debt

[baranduin.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I hear you. This has been such a bittersweet week. I think the Supreme Court gave me whiplash.

Totally deflecting but here are a couple Minoan urns:

http://pinterest.com/pin/494621971545536399/

http://pinterest.com/pin/494621971545536401/

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

*beams and hugs you* Thank you for the Minoan art!

[thistlerose.livejournal.com]

Is that fair to her, though? I mean, I absolutely agree that intersectionality is a major issue that entirely too many people just don't seem to comprehend. But I don't see this particular person saying that racism isn't as bad as homophobia or misogyny. I definitely have seen other people say that, and variations on that theme, but not in this particular instance. Granted, I'm coming at this as a straight white woman, but all I see Ursula saying is that we can take a day to celebrate our victories, and then go back to work.

I'm not saying you're wrong because you're NOT. I'm just not sure Ursula's post is the right one to single out as an example. (And I say that as someone who does not know Ursula at all. For all I know, it IS what she thinks, but I don't see it in that post.)

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

No, or rather yes, that's fair to ask. One of the points of this post is that I wanted people's opinions on if there was an instance of that pattern here, and several people, including you, don't think there is.

... that said, I think pointing out the context of her post is indeed fair. Not that I want to get into a line by line reading, but when she cited "But the Voting Rights Act!" as one of the things people said that harshed her squee... it's as if she couldn't even see why people might have a problem with that decision, you know? And in the context of many people saying "feminism is more important than racism" or "gay rights is THE new civil rights movement..." What we say fits into a context.

I keep going back and forth on this, because I see why people think my reading goes too far, but I also still see why I read it the way I did.

ETA: I think lavendertook may be explaining it better than I could. She spelled out part of the intersectional issues that bugged me but which I wasn't articulating well.

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Very well said. Got your back, bb. *hugs*

[rabidsamfan.livejournal.com]

I'm very upset about the VRA decision.
I'm happy about the DOMA decision.
I'm frustrated by the Prop 8 decision.

But it's the decisions which are stripping more and more power from workers and private citizens and giving it to corporations that I wish were getting more press. And I'm ripshit with Obama for waiting for this week, when there's so much news in the cycle, to make his press for dealing with climate change. Way to avoid getting anyone's attention, sir!

I don't know. Maybe, if we look at someone celebrating who says "I'm going to work on the things that are wrong tomorrow" and wait to see what tomorrow brings? It's hard for anyone to hold a lot of emotions at once and manage to express them all at the same time. I know sometimes I just want to be happy for a while, before I have to go back to the swirl o' doom.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

Thank you, brighteyes. *hugs you tightly and gratefully*

[lavendertook.livejournal.com]

Also, in light of a bunch of the above comments, I need to say I do think you're reading her post spot on. It's her stating "But the Voting Rights Act!" remarkers as one of the groups of people she's complaining about. In light of that, I'm not comfortable with who her "us" in "Give us one damn day to cheer" is excluding. It sounds very white of her to me. I can't help but hold the 2 acts together in my head--the Supreme Court made sure of that with their timing, unless you can treat one as less important.

[browngirl.livejournal.com]

But it's the decisions which are stripping more and more power from workers and private citizens and giving it to corporations that I wish were getting more press. And I'm ripshit with Obama for waiting for this week, when there's so much news in the cycle, to make his press for dealing with climate change. Way to avoid getting anyone's attention, sir!

Oh, don't I hear you. I haven't even *written about* these topics yet because I haven't read enough. SO damn much has happened this week.

I have no problem with the "celebrate today" part of what she said, it was the "because that other stuff isn't as important" part, which not a few people have disagreed with me on. In the context of having been told over and over that racism isn't as important as other oppressions (not least seeing people who have said so in the comments to that post) I still see why I had my first reaction, but I also see where people are coming from who say that wasn't what was intended.