I'm saying that if someone is ignorant the onus is on them to seek out and learn, or at the very least be open minded, not on the people who actually have to deal with shit. Recognize that if you're a straight person you don't actually know much about what living as a queer person in our society is like. Recognize that as a white person you don't actually know much about what the modern black life is like. Hell, recognize as a black person that you don't fully understand what the modern asian life is like, and visa versa. But when people say "hey this thing is offensive for these reasons" don't just reflexively shut down with "WHAT NO I MADE A PERFECT THING YOU'RE WRONG I'M NOT A BAD PERSON" which is what this author seems to be doing
But its not unrelated at all. This topic in question is entirely founded on people's experiences, and this piece is founded on the author's experience
Maybe my interpretation is wrong, but I thought the author was more referencing things like
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/u...otesters-block-journalists-press-freedom.html and
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...-some-students-said-they-no-longer-feel-safe/ (posted these earlier in the thread, sorry if it seems like I'm spamming links). These scenarios are what I immediately jump to when people talk about/criticize the more extreme trigger warnings or micro-agressions, or talk about millenials desiring censorship.
I view these scenarios separately from things I find more understandably legitimate and important, like the african american experience with police, LGBTQ harassment and discrimination in the US, etc.
"you're not reading the article or responding to its claims!" *misgenders the author*
Sorry, I'm not familiar with the author and thought that Lionel was a gendered name.
Listening doesn't mean just shutting the fuck up, though that's a huge part of it that most people can't do anyway for some reason. Stepping out of your comfort zone means recognizing arguments and opinions you don't like could be coming from an informed, logical place that you just can't see because you don't have the same life experience.
I agree with that, but people who are not naturally inclined to seek out opinions and arguments that challenge their own will probably just fall deeper into their echo chamber if they only response they ever receive is "You're racist".
I was responding to this post:
Minorities have no obligation to coddle, educate, and empathize with people who refuse to step out their echo chamber/comfort zone while they the minorities are constantly in a state of discomfort due to the complete insensitivity and most times purposeful maliciousness of others. I'm of the mindset of calling people for what they are and going about my day. No thanks so the role of coddler, educator, empathiser. Definitively not on that magical negro shit
I totally agree that minorities have no obligation to do that, but I think that if the response instead is just an angry tweet or mob harassment, that doesn't help anything either. If the only response they get to their beliefs are angry tweets saying they're racist, instead of encouragement to seek out experiences and writings about the African-American/LGBTQ/minority experience in America, they'll just further cement their beliefs instead of ever seekings out or being given the resources to learn more about the experience of other communities in the US.
If the conversation is just "When I see something racist, I hit back hard", the response to that will just be "When I get called a racist, someone's being too sensitive, and I'm going to hit back harder until they crack", which is how you get Trump and so many people saying they like him because "He just tells it like it is!" despite being probably the most dishonest politician in modern america politics.
If instead the conversation is something like "I disagree with what you said, and I think it's racist. Here's a good article I read earlier discussing this exact thing, they make a really good argument that might change your mind or at least view this topic differently", I think that would have more effect than whatever "calling out racism when I see it" does.
But I am approaching this topic from the perspective a white man so I'm assuming I'm completely blind to a lot of the threads, topics, and conversations that go into this. I try to expand my point of view, but I'm usually afraid to ask questions or question opinions in topics like this because I usually get attacked for several posts until I explain myself.