Re: Describing Diversity
From: Tiffany Lee Brown (magdalen23gmail.com)
Date: Wed, 14 Sep 2016 12:09:38 -0700 (PDT)
Thank you for this concise and frank description. I'm white but am familiar 
with this dynamic. As a partially disabled person, I find both that most things 
are set up for the normally abled, sometimes to my exclusion... And that when 
my health issues are not so bad, I too immediately fall back into forgetting 
that folks with unusual disabilities may be intentionally or unintentionally 
excluded, to the point that they may give up trying to participate unless 
specifically asked and accommodated. 

And it often seems like (cis) men are the first to say that gender doesn't or 
shouldn't matter, just like it takes us whites a while to figure out that 
racial equality isn't just a matter of us ignoring race altogether. Many of us 
raised in the 70s and 80s were taught to think that way, with good 
intentions... It just isn't realistic and doesn't acknowledge systemic bias and 
what we now call "privilege".

I know race and gender and relative abledness are not the same things, but 
sometimes privilege is enacted in similar ways across these realms...


- Tiffany in Central Oregon

Sent from the far shores of a distant land

> On Sep 14, 2016, at 3:45 AM, Crystal Farmer <crystalbyrdfarmer [at] 
> gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> 
> "But what is ?color?. The distinctions between people in terms of color
> have nothing to do with white or non-white. Does anyone think of themselves
> or their neighbors as non-white? Are any of us are white?"
> 
> I find that people who are in the majority race-wise have the privilege of
> ignoring their race. They are able to look at other markers of diversity
> when it comes to housing or community. It's simply not the case for
> non-white people. When I apply for a job, talk to a realtor, or even go
> shopping, my race matters. When our cohousing group talks about diversity,
> I want them to be clear that they welcome diverse people. And that means
> saying, "we have non-white and gay people." It matters to me, and I think
> other people of color would agree. It needs to be said out loud.
> 
> Crystal Farmer
> Charlotte Cohousing Community
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