Ok. So I read the first 3 paragraphs of @CMEdeOliveira's post over at Jezebel. Had to stop when she called Baartman an "illegal immigrant."
-
-
But, of course, it does a lot more than that. It casts her entire being--but her flesh especially--as criminal.
-
And I say that because the authors fixation is Baartman's flesh. Which, again, is cast as illegal, as criminal.
-
Apologies that I can't bring myself to read the entire article. There's only so much violence I can handle in one week. And I hit my limit.
-
But anyway, the author's violence doesn't stop there. She took to Twitter to defend this garbage and did it in the worse way possible.
-
When brilliant black women like
@bad_dominicana questioned @CMEdeOliveira about the article, she snapped, "I'm Latina." -
People are assuming she's a white Latina. Tbh, I can't tell from the avi. But I'll tell you what she's not: she's not black.
-
And her not being black, and attempting to hide behind this all-encompassing Latina identity is what's important here.
-
I'm say this as a non-black Latina myself: we hide behind the fact that we face oppression when we want to excuse our anti-blackness.
-
Shit is so played, tho. We gotta stop acting like we care about racial justice when we're just really hating on black people on the side.
-
There's a harmful irony to saying, "I'm Latina" as a way to avoid answering for our anti-blackness. It has everything to do with...
-
... the fact that claiming racial identity in political arguments in the US is an appropriation of a practice developed by black people.
-
There's layers here. @CMEdeOliveira writes about Baartman, and even calls her an "illegal immigrant," as if she owns the authority to do so.
-
She then brings up her Latina identity to quash debate--but conveniently doesn't mention that she's, umm, not black.
-
And then she stops responding altogether. Because why bother? Why actually engage with the people you're objectifying and writing about?
-
Which is another way in non-black Latinas practice privilege: in silence. In staying the fuck quiet when it would inconvenience us to speak.
-
Anyway. I peeked over at my mentions. All love and genuine dialogue over there. Which isn't what
@bad_dominicana and other black women get. -
Again, there's layers. And as you start to peel them back, you'll find an infinite well of anti-blackness.
End of conversation
New conversation -
-
-
@aurabogado Interesting note: I read a similar article a day before that Jezebel piece was publish: http://thegrio.com/2014/11/12/kim-kardashian-butt/ …Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
@aurabogado TheGrio is a site by and for African Americans. The way I see it, Jezebel saw it and was 'inspired'Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
-
-
@aurabogado Ah, the site is currently down. It would be interesting to compare both pieces once it's up.Thanks. Twitter will use this to make your timeline better. UndoUndo
-
Loading seems to be taking a while.
Twitter may be over capacity or experiencing a momentary hiccup. Try again or visit Twitter Status for more information.