the whys of slut walks

sonice · 22-03-12 20:51:08

Young women are accosted because of the way they look. Young black men are accosted because of the way they look. It is two sides of the same coin.
Both sides are to scared of each other to help the other.

Yes, the young women are scared. Rightfully so. Many young black men seem to live in a culture that glorifies violence and degrades women. You've seen the videos, heard the stories, had personal distasteful encounters with them. I see them coming I'm crossing the street , sorry if you're offended but I got to look out for me.

The young black men are scared. Yes they are scared don't be fooled by the front.
You are always suspect, always considered a threat. Any ill street encounter with those women can lead to , your arrest, conviction, jailing or death. It's your word against theirs, who are they going to believe? There is a Geogre Zimmerman in every crowd. Just try to stay away from them.

The same sad state of affairs continues.

Last edited by sonice (23-03-12 01:25:02)

WLV612 · 22-03-12 21:03:10

With the technology in communications, our ability to reach around the globe in a nano second, there seems to be a greater tendency to put out information than there is to take in and process information and make an informed decision on social issues.
Indeed, it's more of the same. Kind of off topic. Sorry.

blissed · 22-03-12 22:18:19

Sonice I'm not sure what Bob Dylan has to do with young men fearing prejudice and young women fearing violence. or the relevance of ethnicity. There are pale skin males who rape and glorify violence sometimes because they like gangster rap but also within pale skin cultures like hells angels or skin heads. I don't think it's helpful to isolate 2 groups, and one by ethnicity in the way you have. even though your subconscious makes you cross the road when it senses danger and gives you the benefit of the doubt, if you lived somewhere else it would move you away of the hells angels or pale skin gangs. Glorifying violence and denigrating women isn't dependant on how our true genetic heritage roughly corresponds with an arbitrary notion of race, but by whats going on in our head.

.

Last edited by blissed (22-03-12 22:52:24)

viva · 23-03-12 00:05:29

Bravo ^

WLV612 · 23-03-12 00:14:12

blissed wrote:

Glorifying violence and denigrating women isn't dependant on how our true genetic heritage roughly corresponds with an arbitrary notion of race, but by whats going on in our head.
.

I agree but how did the things that perpetuate violence and prejudice get into our respective heads? It need not be genetic to be ingrained as if it were genetic.
It goes way beyond my knowledge base and education. I missed the Dylan reference. Help me out.

sonice · 23-03-12 07:05:59

I’m sorry I meant George not Bob ( I love Dylan). George Zimmerman is the guy that kill a 17 yr old African American because he believed he looked suspious. Look it up. I guess I confused you all because I was trying to speak for someone else ( A scared young woman) I’m not that skilled a writer and I probably shouldn’t have tried it.

My point was that fear of the other keeps people, facing similar societal bias, from supporting each other.
Alliances of this kind is the way to bring about the change we want to see.
I chose the groups I picked because it is personal to me. I see the dynamic play in front of me everyday.
I also have to admit I might be a little scared. Could I be the next unfortunate black man that get taken down ?

I was trying to show how both camps have this big thing in common that , upon reflection is kind the same thing. If weren’t so scares of each other maybe we could figure out a way to help each other advance our goals. I guess my message is that black men should want slut walks to be successful not only for the women’s sake but for our own. If you can influence societies to stop judging women by the way they look maybe society will stop judging us by the way we look as well.

If any of you young ladies ever meet some black guy talking some crap like me. OK maybe he does want to sleep with you but it should not end there. Maybe there’s work that can be done together for the mutual interest of us all.

WLV612 · 23-03-12 12:46:16

That entire shooting was bungled by the investigators from the start and they seem to be even less inclined to correct their mistakes.
Fear comes from lack of knowledge and knowledge can turn fear into respect, however , if the knowledge can't be applied across the board, the fear remains.
Case in point; I'm not afraid of snakes or spiders or just about any living entity on earth because I've educated myself on their habits, how they may harm me if I'm careless or ignorant. Humans are totally unpredictable. Meet a group of young men on a dark street and they may be coming from a party or a sporting event and you pass by in safety. Or another group may be a gang of some sort and you stand the chance of being robbed and beaten. You're forced to err on the side of caution. You turn around or do anything to place yourself out of a possible danger zone.
Being of one persuasion or another is no guarantee that you'll be a target or a threat.
I've never been bitten by a dog or a snake or a spider because I understand how they'll react to any given situation. About 10 years ago I was attacked by four men sitting in a car at our local park in broad daylight. The were drunk and I was doing my run and they spilled out of their car probably with the intent of robbing me for more beer money. Who could predict something like that? People all around in a safe public park? I turned and ran back at them, past their car, got the tag number and ran to the rec center and called the police. Easy to out run a drunk. The point being it was an unprovoked and unpredictable attack and there was no racial or gender basis for suspicion. Just people being unpredictable. And assholes.

blissed · 23-03-12 13:15:43

Thanks Viva

Yeah WL knowledge can conquer fear.

Sonice the whole ethnic point of your post was lost because bob dylan doesn't go around killing people Ha ha

Yeah you really fucked up the making of an excellent point especially as most people won't know that your talking about your own ethnicity. But I'll forgive you

sonice wrote:

There is a George Zimmerman in every crowd.

I live in a multi racial area in England and I've seen that paranoia can be a huge problem when your the target of even a tiny group of viscous racists. Now that racists are reviled and so underground I think that's made that feeling worse. It's terrorism. The best response I've seen is to be yourself even if you make rap. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vAhoTlW9p6E and not be reactive and a stereotype of blackness because the gangster rap culture dispute appearances is open to anyone and everyone and unless thats really you or you can carry that off really well you'll look just as stupid as anyone else trying to be something they're not http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG62pu38twg the best response from people who aren't of the target ethnicity is to openly show solidarity rather than being silent.

For men especially, whatever our ethnicity we should all try and be aware of how our mere presence makes other people feel threatened. Personally if my presence makes people feel threatened I'm uncomfortable. and where people enjoy threatening people with their presence I think it usually means that's all they have left to make them feel worth anything, and they need some help into a more empowering headspace.

.

Last edited by blissed (24-03-12 02:11:50)

viva · 26-03-12 00:55:42

Oh god this whole horrible Sanford thing
I was partially raised in Florida in blissful ignorance, I only learned about the racism later but it fits into my memories. I really dislike Florida - Miami at least - every time I had to visit, before my grandparents moved out west, I wrote poems about how gross it was. No curbs, pepto-bismal houses, yellow grass and nary an independent bookstore in sight.

The whole Trayvon incident is abhorrent and awful. Reading the right media's take on the whole thing makes me want to cry, and the left ain't much better - focusing on skittles and what a nice schoolboy he was and posting pictures of him at 11 - when in reality he was 17 at the time of the shooting. No excuse - it doesn't change anything, why tug heartstrings with lies when the truth is just as poignant? And how in the world can Florida be a place where it is legal to shoot and kill someone who punched you? Wouldn't that at least be manslaughter!??!?! and the guy still hasn't been arrested!

In light of the Zimmerman (read: George not Bob) situation, I think it's topical to discuss the parallels between race and sexism.

Sonice if you are interested in continuing that conversation, I think it would be best to start a new thread. I would definitely listen and contribute - race has been on the collective mind lately.

#26 22-03-12 20:51:08

Re: the whys of slut walks

#27 22-03-12 21:03:10

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#28 22-03-12 22:18:19

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#29 23-03-12 00:05:29

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#30 23-03-12 00:14:12

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#31 23-03-12 07:05:59

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#32 23-03-12 12:46:16

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#33 23-03-12 13:15:43

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#34 26-03-12 00:55:42

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