No More "Allies"

excerpt from Black Girl Dangerous
by Mia McKenzie

It’s not supposed to be a performance. It’s supposed to be a way of living your life that doesn’t reinforce the same oppressive behaviors you’re claiming to be against. It’s supposed to be about you doing the following things:

1. shutting up and listening
2. educating yourself (you could start with the thousands of books and websites that already exist and are chock full of damn near everything anyone needs to know about most systems and practices of oppression)
3. when it’s time to talk, not talking over the people you claim to be in solidarity with
4. accepting feedback/criticism about how your “allyship” is causing more harm than good without whitesplaining/mansplaining/whateversplaining
5. shutting up and listening some more
6. supporting groups, projects, orgs, etc. run by and for marginalized people so our voices get to be the loudest on the issues that effect us
7. not expecting marginalized people to provide emotional labor for you

This is by no means a comprehensive list. But most “allies” aren’t even getting these things right.
So, henceforth, I will no longer use the term “ally” to describe anyone.

http://www.blackgirldangerous.org/2013/09/30/no-more-allies/

Dogs that bite are put down

I am an instrument who will take vengeance.

Like a character from a graphic novel, she dresses in black, has unusually blond hair — and kills bus drivers who sexually assault women.

“You think because we are women we are weak, and maybe we are,” the message says. “But only to a certain point.... We can no longer remain quiet over these acts that fill us with rage.

“And so, I am an instrument who will take vengeance.”

Signed: Diana, Huntress of Bus Drivers.

Full story:
http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-wn-mexican-border-city-avenger-20130903,0,4220840.story

Shit Rape Apologists Say

1. [Trying to kick out a rapist of union meetings] is like what the boss tries to do to workers. If this was the boss doing it, you would be defending him.  

2. [Confronting a privileged white man about him raping someone] is like the lynching of Black men in the South.

3. [Organizing against a man who committed sexual assault] is a violation of his human rights.

4. "Without absolute proof, you don't have the right to do anything about it."

5. This is a political witch-hunt.
6. Does he have to tell potential roommates on Craigslist that he's a serial rapist, if they're just normal people?
7. If he tells potential roommates he's a serial rapist, then he'll have a hard time finding housing! It's not fair to him. Housing is a human right.
8. [Being a rapist] is difficult, he needs safe spaces too.
9. Stop talking about him being a rapist, you're hurting his feelings!
10. You're hurting his career when you talk about him being a rapist.
11. Poor guy.

Please submit your own favorite rape apologist quotes to cassandrasolanas@gmail.com, we'll add it to this list!

Portland IWW Patriarchy Resistance Committee: How We Struggle

http://pdxiwwprc.wordpress.com/2013/10/29/how-we-struggle-2/

It is not sufficient to state that capitalism is the linchpin on which all other oppressions depend and that, with the destruction of capitalism, all people will be free from oppression. If that were true, it is likely that our “democratic, anti-capitalist” organization would be more representative of the working class instead of being dominated by the same people who dominate capitalist society at large. In this vein, we pose the question: to whom is classism a “personal issue” and to whom is it a real issue? To whom is patriarchy a “personal issue” and to whom is it a real issue? As a union, we know that classism is a personal issue for working people, as well as a very real issue. We wonder why patriarchy is so often dismissed as a “personal issue” without any regard for it’s equally real consequences. We should all know that the personal is political. Perhaps we need to reassess what it means to struggle or what resistance looks like. 

We know it is important to struggle against our bosses. We would never tell a co-worker that we “aren’t taking sides” when they confide in us about abuse perpetrated by the boss. Staying “neutral” is upholding the status quo. “Not taking sides” when someone is called out on patriarchal behaviors means leaving FWs without support and allowing abusers to continue, never being held accountable. Whereas, silence is compliance, Be it resolved that standing in solidarity with people facing patriarchal oppression is subverting the status quo that harms us all.