Helen says her granny 'held on to as much of her accent as she could.' She 'proudly' told people she was from England 'even though' she was an Australian citizen from age 25). #POC migrants are discriminated for our accents & work hard to perfect our English... #socmoderation
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Whiteness makes it easy to position an accent as a mark of positive distinction. Helen's grandmother also achieved citizenship at an early age. Many refugees fight years for this & it's increasingly hard for non-English-speaking migrants to gain citizenship.
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Helen's grandmother is touted as being 'proud' of her accent. So it's little surprise that 'where are you from' is a different experience than for
#POC migrants. My research shows this question can be positive, but not when it's tinged by racism. Helen ignores this#socmoderation1 reply 0 retweets 10 likesShow this thread -
Helen's husband is 'British born British/Australian with a "west country" accent.' Helen moved from Brisbane from Melbourne 25 years ago. Because they have been asked 'where are you from' on occassion, she sees this as nullifying the racism my research identifies.
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Helen's logic illustrates how racism functions: if she's observed a *kind of similar but not really* experience & she's okay with it, maybe racism doesn't exist? White people being asked 'where are you from' is NOT the same as
#POC. She needs to believe otherwise#socmoderation1 reply 2 retweets 14 likesShow this thread -
My research shows that it's the context and interaction that matter: when the question 'where are you from' is followed by incessant questioning & dismissal ('but where are you REALLY from') this reinforces other exclusion & racism
#POC experience in daily life.#socmoderation1 reply 2 retweets 14 likesShow this thread -
Also, it's telling that Helen's examples are of White people with White-coded accents (British, Brisbane
). The women in my study were second-generation, largely Australia-born, and all without accents. Yet they're still asked 'Where are you REALLY from?' #socmoderation1 reply 1 retweet 11 likesShow this thread -
Helen then uses White supremacy play: she has not engaged with the empirical evidence, but asks for more evidence ('Is it a case that no ‘white Australians’ were interviewed'). Were White people interviewed in my study about 2nd gen migrant women? Of course not.
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What compels the Helens of this world to write to race scholars & demand we take back our anti-racism? In Helen's words 'I am "guilty" of asking many white people where they are from' Guilt White people don't want to think about race. They don't like how it feels
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The Helens *do* recognise their racism but they want distance. She writes: 'when "white Australians" are asked, they don’t link the question to the colour of their skin...perhaps that is...white privilege?' She knows the answer, but wants a different answer.
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White supremacy is the belief that White people are superior to other groups. It is enforced in political economy & everyday life in various ways. Some are structural (laws), others are via social interaction (prejudice & social norms). E.g. Refusing to see racism. #socmoderation
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White people who want to debate what racism is, and what it is not, especially in the face of evidence & lived experience of
#POC is another manifestation of White supremacy. That White people are objective authorities who define racism is how racism is normalised#socmoderation1 reply 12 retweets 19 likesShow this thread -
Dr Zuleyka Zevallos Retweeted Dr Zuleyka Zevallos
Finally, White people - especially in Australia - *really* hate being called White, because that means they need to think about their race. That leads them to confront how they benefit from racism. Hence, the Helens use quotes for 'White.'
#socmoderationhttps://twitter.com/OtherSociology/status/947317460495040513 …Dr Zuleyka Zevallos added,
Dr Zuleyka Zevallos @OtherSociologyThe most absurd moment of 2017 that perfectly illustrates the logic of White supremacy: in March, then-Attorney General George Brandis complained about being called a White man as he attempted to abolish racial discrimination protections. He is White. https://twitter.com/workmanalice/status/847386130265681921 …0 replies 2 retweets 14 likesShow this thread
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